Found
by karie2055
Summary: He couldn't leave her, a complete stranger, alone in the rain. There was just something about her that called out to him. A multi-chapter story for GrayLu week, each chapter consisting of each prompt. Chapter 7 - Day 6: Destiny. Rater T: For Language.
1. Chapter 1: Cold

**_Cold [kohld] - _**(4) lacking in passion, emotion, enthusiasm, ardor, dispassionate. (5) not affectionate, cordial, or friendly; unresponsive.

* * *

_**Chapter 1**_

She was numb; she couldn't feel anything – not even the pain that came with her aching heart. She looked to her right and saw him happily chatting with their friends while she – she didn't even want to think about it.

"Lucy, are you alright?" asked Mira when she saw the blonde still sitting at the bar.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied looking down at her drink, when had her voice become so cold? "I'm just not feeling it today, Mira, sorry."

The older girl smiled sadly, "I understand, if you'd like, why don't I take you home? I'll be done with my shift in an hour or so."

"No, don't worry about it, Mira," she replied with a small smile - even though it never reached her eyes, "I don't want to be a burden to you."

Mira frowned a bit, she didn't want to let Lucy go home all alone at night, but her shift didn't end for another hour or so - and she desperately needed the extra money to pay off Lisanna's college dues. She looked around their group of friends, Natsu, Gajeel, and Levy had already drunk more than a glass or two. Cana was way worse than them, and Erza and Jellal were without a doubt their ride so that only left Lucy's boyfriend, Richard, who happened to be enjoying his time as he did not notice how isolated his girlfriend was from the group.

"Well, I'll see you around, Mira," she heard Lucy say as she grabbed her purse from the counter and left a bunch of bills next to her drink, "keep the change," she smiled, her eyes still didn't had their usual sparkle.

Before Mirajane could stop the blonde, she was already more than halfway through the door. She wanted to desperately grab Richard by the collar of his shirt and shake him senseless, but she couldn't, she was working now - and _he_ was a paying customer.

She looked at the watch on her wrist, _'only 45 minutes more and I can strangle the idiot,'_ she thought to herself before going back to the bar to attend new customers an keeping Lucy's tip.

* * *

Once she had made it out of Mira's prying blue eyes, she let out a small sigh and let her vision blur. How could he have done this to her? They were supposed to be true to one another, to care and to cherish - but obviously, she was the only one that thought about it that way. As she walked away from the vivacious atmosphere her friends had, the scene she had witness shortly after arriving played in her mind over and over again...

_Lucy arrived at the bar faster than she thought she would. Her friends were already inside and she could hear them all the way from entrance. It was a small get together they had planned for a while now to celebrate 10 years of friendship. Lisanna wasn't able to make it because her final paper was due and she wanted it to be perfect! She paid the taxi and entered with a smile on her face._

_Today was going to be the best day ever! Today marked her 2 year anniversary with Richard, who as she looked around wasn't there yet, a bit disappointed that she arrived before him she joined her friends in the relaxed and friendly atmosphere they had created for themselves. After she ordered her drink from Mira, her phone vibrated, she looked down and saw it was a text from him,_

_-Just reached the parking lot, hope you guys haven't started without me ;)_

_She smiled and replied,_

-_Not at all, just setting the mood for your arrival, your highness ;)_

-_Haha, be there when I find a spot._

_She excused herself from her friends and went outside to the parking lot, remembering how they met. She remembered it perfectly, she was in her English class when he entered, a new transfer student to their university, and his looks had caught her eyes first, then as they got to know each other better, his intellectuality captured her mind and his way of being had her heart. When she reached the lot, she opened her mouth to call out to him, but was stopped by what came next._

_Her boyfriend, the one it had taken her months to convince her father he was **the one**, was kissing another woman (passionately she might add) against his car. What hurt her wasn't so much the kissing – actually it did, but not as much as the words she heard next,_

"_How much longer do I have to wait?" she asked him when they pulled apart._

"_Not much, soon, she'll be saying yes and then I'll get you everything you want," he replied._

"_Alright, but don't forget that you belong to me, and only me."_

"_Of course, you are the one and only woman I will always love," she turned into the corner and stood with her back to the wall. Her heart was pounding fast and she felt the whole world crumble around her._

At one point in her walk, she looked up at the sky, as if asking for answers to her dilemma. Why? What did she do wrong? Why did this always happen to her…

* * *

Gray was walking back to his house from the convenience store, he was able to get his sister the ice cream she had been bothering him for days now. As much as he hated to admit it, he spoiled her rotten - well maybe not to that extent, but close enough. He opened his umbrella when he felt drops from the sky hit his nose. As he crossed the street, he saw a blonde girl staring up at the sky. The same person on his way _to_ the convenience store.

'_I shouldn't, I really shouldn't,_' he thought as he got closer to her, '_and I'm doing it, damn it!_'

He pushed his umbrella away from himself and towards her, "hey, you'll catch a cold if you stay out here," he said lightly.

The girl turned around, her eyes expressionless, "Who-?"

"Here," he pushed the umbrella further towards her, "you're gonna need this more than me."

She didn't take it, she only stared at him – or rather past him. Gray sighed lightly, he grabbed her hand and put it on the handle and left it there. He noticed her hands were soft, but they were unusually cold. He stopped himself for a moment, how did he know they were colder than usual? For all he could know, she could be like him, cold hands and all, but for whatever reason, he just _knew _this wasn't how she normally was.

"Thank you, but I don't really need this," she replied bringing him back to the present and handing him back the umbrella.

"I insist, you take it, my house is just around the corner anyway," he pushed it further to cover head once more.

"N-no, I really couldn't! I wouldn't know how to return it afterward!" she once again tried, her voice had more life in it, and her eyes had a rising sparkle that wasn't there before.

Gray chuckled a bit, "well, in that case, I believe this is rather pointless," he took it from her and closed it, "I mean look at us, we're both drenched!"

Her eyes widened, before she took in her surroundings for the first time, and since the moment she left the bar, she let out a sincere laugh – a laugh so contagious that Gray couldn't help but laugh along with her. Once their laughter died down, Gray stuck out his free hand, "I'm Gray Fullbuster, pleasure to meet you."

"Lucy Heartfilia, the pleasure is all mine," she shook his hand – he noticed quickly her hand was warmer now, still cold but less so than the abnormal one he felt moments ago.

"Since a pretty girl such as yourself wouldn't normally be here dressed the way you are, I'm guessing you are either lost or a hooker," he joked.

Lucy blushed at his comment, "I-I'm not a hooker!"

"Haha, I know," he replied, "you're too nice to be one, and you don't give off that kind of air anyway. So that leaves with being lost, if you'd like I don't mind taking you home," he replied, he was about to take out his phone to call his sister, but Lucy's response stopped him,

"I don't really want to go home…" the sparkle in her eyes disappeared once more as she looked at the ground, when she thought about it, her apartment would be the first place he would go to, and he was the last person she _ever_ wanted to see.

Gray felt a bit awkward, he didn't really know what to do in this kind of situation – he had never really been in this kind of situation before actually! He rubbed his neck and awkwardly asked, "If…if you'd like you can stay at my place."

She looked back up at him quickly, "what?! I-I can't do that!" her face turned red, how could she do that?! To go to a stranger's home – let alone a man's!

"I didn't mean it like that," he tried to quickly explain, "I mean – if you _want_ to, you don't have to, I wouldn't want you to be out here, or anywhere considering the way your dressed," he looked away from her.

She looked at him questionably before looking down at herself, her white shirt hung to her figure and was - embarrassingly enough - see-through. She hugged herself tightly, "I-I guess – I hope I'm not intruding on you," she said.

Gray smiled while looking at her, before diverting his eyes for a moment and handing her the umbrella and forgotten bag with ice cream to her, "H-hold this."

She grabbed the items quickly when he pushed them towards her. He quickly took off his flannel shirt, leaving him in his black undershirt, and handed it to her, "it might be wet already, but it'll help."

She stared at the item now offered to her for a while before taking it and handing him back his stuff, she quickly put it on and buttoned up the first couple of buttons, "Thank you, Gray," she said along with a small smile. He returned the smile and offered his hand, "come on, my house is just around here."

She graciously took his hand, which she noticed was cold, not an unusual cold, but a reassuring cold – how paradoxical.

The two walked in silence in the rain, a silence that was neither awkward nor hard to break, just calm and comfortable. Soon they reached their destination, a two-story house that had more flowers than she expected him to have with a simple, short fence that was painted white.

"Well, this is home," he replied with a smile, he let go of her hand pushed the gate open, letting her walk in first and closing it right behind her.

As she walked the short path to the door, she noticed the variety of flowers growing, there were roses, dogwood flowers, daisies, there were such a assortment that they probably matched up to the ones back at their mansion. Gray searched for his keys and opened the door; they were greeted with the warm air that was produced from Gray's AC.

"I'm home!" he called out to his sister, he took off his shoes so as to not wet the floor, "sorry if it's a little messy, but we weren't really expecting a visit around this time."

'_We?_' she thought to herself but smiled a little none the less as she too took off her boots, "it's no problem, thanks again for letting me stay, are you sure I'm not intruding?"

"I'm positive," he reassured her, before he could continue any further, a voice from atop the stairs called out to him, "Gray-nii-chan! You're back!" A girl in her late teens came down the stairs in sweatpants and a simple cotton shirt, she had brown eyes and blue hair, "Gray-nii-chan you lost your shirt again," she pointed out normally.

"I-I didn't lose my shirt, Wendy," he replied, "at least not this time," he murmured, he handed her the bag he had been holding, "here's your ice cream."

"Aw!" she whined, "It's all melted!"

"Sorry about that, I got caught up with someone," he pointed behind him. Wendy leaned to the side to see her brother's shirt been worn by a beautiful blonde woman, her face had an expression of understanding, "Oh, I see," then she turned to her brother innocently, "you stopped to flirt with a beautiful woman again, and forgot about your cute little sister," she pouted.

"W-we weren't flirting," they both said at the same time, Lucy's face heated up.

"Wendy this is Lucy, Lucy this is my little sister Wendy," he said introducing the two.

"It's nice to meet you," said Wendy bowing properly.

"It's nice to meet you, too," replied Lucy as she bowed lightly.

"Lucy is going to be staying with us for the night," he continued, "think you can spare her a change of clothes?"

"Sure," she replied, "follow me, upstairs, Lucy-san."

The blonde nodded and followed the young girl up the stairs, she turned back to Gray to see him staring at them both, she mouthed a quick "thank you" and continued up the stairs.

Gray stood at the entrance of his house for a good a couple of minutes before coming back to his senses. What on earth was _wrong_ with him? He not only invited a stranger into their home, he happily passed her on to his younger sister for a change of clothes, _and_ knowing Wendy, she would be using one of their showers. He shook his head, and remembered the look on her face that she had, it was a look he knew too well, it was one of lost, grief, and worst of all, betrayal. Once he saw that face, there was no way in hell he was going to leave her alone like that in the rain.

He walked up the stairs to his own room and was about to enter when Wendy called out to him, "Gray-nii-chan!"

"Yes, Wendy?" He turned to her

"Lucy-san might have to borrow one of your shirts, the ones I have are a bit small on her," she replied.

"Why don't you lend her one of Ultear's?"

She raised an eyebrow at him, "don't you remember the last time you lent a girl one of her shirts?" The two thought back at the memory and shuddered at the reaction.

"Y-you're right," he went inside and pulled out a simple gray cotton shirt and tossed it to her.

"Thank you!" And with that she left.

He picked out his pajamas for the night and went in to take a shower himself, he needed to ponder over the fact if this was a good idea or not...

* * *

When Lucy had gotten out of the bathroom, she felt relieved, refreshed and renewed, "Wendy-chan, I'm done with the shower," she said as she knocked on the younger girl's door. The girl in question opened the door with a smile, "okay, thanks. Your clothes are in the drying machine downstairs. Again I'm really sorry I couldn't find a shirt of mine that could fit you."

"It's alright, you guys are doing more than enough for me," she replied sincerely.

Wendy wanted to ask Lucy why she couldn't go home, but she didn't want to stick her nose in where it didn't belong, "well, I'll go take a shower now so I can make dinner. Make yourself at home for the time being!"

"Thanks I will," she was about to go her way down the stairs when she turned again, "Wendy-chan?"

"Yes, Lucy-san?" She asked opening her half closed door.

"Do mind if I borrow your phone charger for a minute? I'm afraid my phone died."

"Sure," she smile and handed her the electronic charger, "thanks again," replied Lucy.

She made her way down the stairs and plugged the charger near the television set. Her phone's logo came into view quickly and the charging battery blinked shortly after. She dried her hair while she waited for her phone to have at least 3% before turning it on.

Once she did, her phone blasted with instant beeps. The thing kept vibrating so much that she just left it on the coffee table until it was done. When it stopped, she picked it up and scrolled through her messages, some were from Richard, but the rest were from her friends.

Natsu:

_-Lucy, where did you go?_

_-Hello? Lucy you're not picking up the phone, are you alright?_

_-Luce, this isn't funny anymore, call us, we're worried about you!_

_-Come on Luce, call me when you can!_

Levy:

_-Lu-chan where are you?! :(_

_-Lu-chan did something happen?_

_-Why aren't you picking up? D:_

_-Gajeel and I are worried, please pick up!_

Erza:

_-Lucy, I called your apartment how come you aren't picking up?_

_-Hey, we're all worried, Jellal even called your dad! Are you okay?_

Jellal:

_-Lucy, your dad says you're not with him, are you alright?_

Mira:

_-I swear Lucy, if something happened to you, I won't forgive myself!_

_-I talked to Richard, he doesn't know where you went, are you okay!_

_-Please tell me your okay, I'm really worried about you!_

Richard:

_-Mira told you left, why did you leave?_

_-Lucy, come on don't ignore me._

_-Luce, call me, I'm really worried._

_-Babe, I'm waiting for you at your apartment, please open the door._

_-Lucy, I know your home, come on let me in!_

That was the last message she read, she was right in not going home, but she didn't realize how much she made her friends worry. Her phone vibrated once more.

Levy:

_-LUCY, IF YOU DON'T CONTACT ME IN ANY WAY OR FORM I AM CALLING THE COPS! SO PLEASE! ANSWER!_

She smiled a little and pressed the call icon next to Levy's name. She only heard a single ring before her ear was blasted by her friend's voice,

"_LU-CHAN WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW WORRIED WE WERE, WE EVEN CALLED YOUR DAD – YOUR **DAD** FOR CHRIST'S SAKE!"_

"I-I'm sorry, Levy-chan, I didn't mean to make you guys worry…"

"_SORRY MY BUTT_!" she heard her sigh on the other line, "_Why haven't you been picking up your phone? We've been calling for hours now!_"

"S-sorry, I think my phone died and I didn't even realize it."

"_Really? Because it rang more than enough to know it wasn't off!"_

"L-Levy-chan, I swear I'm fine, I just needed time to be alone."

"_Then why didn't you tell us?!"_

"I-I guess, I may have forgotten…"

"_Well_ -"

"_Hey, is that Lucy on the phone?_" she heard Natsu ask through the background.

"_Yeah, she finally called – hey Natsu! Give me back my phone!_"

"_Lucy are you alright?!_"

"Yeah, I'm fine, sorry for making you guys worry."

"_It's okay, just next time leave a note or something! If it wasn't for Mira we wouldn't have known you had actually left!_"

"Again, I'm sorry."

"_So what happened?"_

"I-I don't walk to talk about it right now…"

"_Hey, I thought friends didn't keep secrets from one ano – **OW**!_"

"_Here you go pipsqueak,_" she heard Gajeel say, she could only imagine what just happened.

"_Thanks, Gajeel-kun!_"

"Hey, Levy-chan, mind if we talk tomorrow, I don't really want to talk about what happened today, okay?"

"…_okay, but at least tell us where you are, you're not at a love hotel - are you?!_"

"_WHAT?!_" she heard through the line

"N-NO!" she replied blushing, her face turning red, "I-I'm at a friend's house, so don't worry."

"_Why aren't you at your apartment?_"

"Tomorrow, please?"

"_Okay, night, Lu-chan._"

"Night, Levy-"

"_Oh before I forget, call your dad, he's really worried about you, sorry!_"

"It's no problem, thanks," she pulled the phone away and hung up.

She sighed, '_tomorrow is going to be a **long** day,' _she thought to herself, she put her phone down as she caught sight of a reflection in the light. She walked towards it and noticed it was a line of photos, the one that had caught her eye particularly was one where she saw a much younger looking Gray and Wendy along with an older man and woman with dark hair and eyes along with another woman who looked like the other one but younger and with longer hair.

"That's our parents along with our older sister," a voice spoke from behind her making her jump.

"S-sorry, I didn't mean to snoop around," she apologized.

"Don't worry about it," he pointed to man in the picture, "that's my dad," he then pointed to the older woman, "he and Ur married after my mother passed away due to a weak body."

She wanted to give her condolence but he continued, "When they married, Ultear and I became siblings," he pointed to the other woman, "and shortly after Wendy arrived into the world. However, just 10 years ago they died in a plane accident." He took a long pause.

"I'm so sorry…"

"It's alright," he smiled a little, "we managed to hang by then, but now we're fine."

She nodded, she heard a sizzling sound from the kitchen and noticed that Wendy had managed to slip between her conversation on the phone and Gray and started cooking in the kitchen. She took a step back from Gray and grabbed her phone, "I better call my dad; he's probably worried sick knowing that I'm not with my friends."

"Right, I'll help Wendy with dinner," and he walked away to the kitchen.

She dialed her father's personal number and waited for him to answer, "_Lucy?_"

"Hey, dad…"

"_Lucy! Do you have any idea how worried I was? Jellal-kun called me in the middle of work telling me you disappeared._"

"Sorry, dad, I didn't mean to – it's just something happened with Richard and I didn't really feel like staying…"

"_You know I hate saying this – but I told you so, I **told** you he was bad news!_"

"I know, I'm sorry daddy."

She heard him sigh from the other side of the line, "_Just…where are you? I'll go and have someone pick you up right now._"

"I'm at a friend's house, so don't worry about it."

"_Lucy, I'd feel better if you were here at home with me…_"

"I know, but it's pouring outside…" she knew her father would get the reference.

"_I understand, but tomorrow morning I'll be sending someone with the car to pick you up._"

"Alright," she replied defeated, there was no changing her father's mind, "Ano, the address is…" she looked back Gray for the information.

"Tell him, it's just south of Yanagi Station on the east side of Magnolia High. It's the only house that is a light yellow."

"_Lucy, is that a man's voice?_"

"Y-yeah?"

"_That's it! I'm going there right now!_"

"N-no! Dad, I'm fine, Gray and his sister are taking really good care of me, really!"

"_...Alright, but we'll be having a talk tomorrow morning, you hear me young lady?_"

"Yes, sir…"

"_Very well, goodnight, Lucy._"

"Goodnight, daddy…" she hung up and put her phone back down on the coffee table.

"Daddy?" she heard a smirking voice say.

"Y-yeah! And?" she stuck out her tongue at him, he chuckled, "just how old are you, Lucy?"

"Twenty-two."

He almost spit out his drink, "really?"

"Yeah?"

"I thought you would be older."

"Like how old?"

"I don't know, twenty-five?"

"Ew, I'm not that old!"

"Dinner's ready!" called Wendy as she put down the last plate.

"Thanks for the meal!"

The three ate in a brief silence before Wendy broke it, "So, Lucy-san…"

"Lucy is just fine," smiled the blonde.

"In that case, Wendy is just fine for me as well," she replied before continuing, "What do you do?"

"Well, at the moment I'm working on getting my getting my Master's in Restaurant and Lodging Management, but I'm working at one of my father's hotels."

"Wow, that's incredible!"

"Thanks."

"My brother works in the finance department of a famous hotel, while Ultear-nee-chan is an administration director."

"Really? That's incredible!"

"T-thanks," he replied a bit embarrassed, "although, Wendy here is planning on becoming a pastry chef!"

"Gray-nii-chan!"

"If you're planning on become a pastry chef, I can help introducing you to some people."

"That would be amazing!"

"So how come your family is all into hotels and stuff?"

"Our parents used to own a small motel before, and at one point or other, we wanted to help them out – it helped us know what we wanted to do in the near future, what about you?"

"Same, I wanted to be part of the family business even though my father said I didn't have to, but seeing both of my parents do all they could to make others day happy, just inspired me."

Gray nodded, the finished their dinner and washed the plates, letting Wendy go upstairs and study for her finals. Once the two finished, Gray turned on the TV while Lucy sat on the far end of the couch – away from him. At more than one point in the middle of the comedy show they were watching her phone rang. Each time she would look at the caller ID before putting it back in silence. By the fifth time she did that, he had to ask, "Who is it? A blocked number?"

"No…though maybe I should put him on block," she replied scrolling down her contact list and doing just that.

"Is it a stalker? Because if it is, I can help," he volunteered.

She giggled, "at this point I wish it was a stalker, and how would you be able to help?"

"Just hand me the phone the next time it rings, and you'll see," he chuckled, before getting serious, "so if it's not a stalker, than who is it? Because I'm pretty sure, you wouldn't be doing that your friends."

She looked down at the piece of technology in her hands, "It's…it's my boyfriend – or rather **_ex_**-boyfriend."

"Ex?"

"As of four hours ago…" she felt the numbing sensation come back.

He knew he shouldn't ask, but he couldn't help it, "what happened?" he scooted a bit closer to her – as if he was approaching a scared animal.

"I don't really want to talk about it," she replied bringing her knees up and hugging them close to her chest.

"If you don't, you'll have an even harder time tomorrow," he replied getting closer to her, "it's alright if you want to cry," he patted her head lightly, "Wendy probably already went to sleep, so it's just you and me."

She looked him through her teary eyes; there was something about him that made her comfortable, safe…but what? Before her mind could register it, she was telling him her pathetic love story; how they met, how he captured her heart, how much effort she put into convincing her father, how she introduced him to her deceased mother, and how he had played with her heart all along.

By the time she was finished she was bawling her eyes out in his arms, arms that were so cold to the touch but warm to be in. He rubbed her back comfortably, only focusing on her breathing until she calmed down. When she did, she didn't pull away, she just stayed there. This is what she was looking for the whole night, a comforting set of arms that would listen to her troubles and would not take advantage of her.

"Thank you, Gray," she whispered still settled in his arms.

"Anytime," he replied hugging her tighter. As if God had delayed the next sound that rang throughout the living room, her phone vibrated. She stayed in her position allowing Gray to grab her phone.

_Blocked Number._

"I really, _really _don't want to talk to him now," she said looking at the phone in his hands and buried her face in his chest.

"Then don't," he replied making up his mind, "_I_ will," he said as he pressed the answer icon on her phone.

"Wha?"

"_Lucy! About **time** you answered! I've been calling you for hours! Would you mind opening the door?! People have been giving me the evil eye for the past 2 hours! Come on open up, already!_"

"Listen here, dick face," said Gray in a cold tone, "if you ever call this number again, I will guarantee you that I will hunt you down and kill you."

"_Is that a threat? Who are you and why do you have my girlfriend's phone?_"

"Believe me that isn't a threat, but a promise. As for who I am? That's none of your business and if you don't know, then figure it out yourself," he hung up and lightly tossed the phone to the coffee table once more.

"Did you just?"

"I did," he said once he realized what he did, "I'm so sorry," he said with wide eyes.

"Don't be," she replied, putting her head back down, "thank you," she said with a smile.

He stroke her hair, "you're welcome, Lucy."

As the minutes passed by, he realized she fell asleep on his chest, she looked so peaceful and serene that he didn't have the heart to move. He grabbed the control remote and turned off the TV, he leaned over to the side where he had been originally sitting and turned off the light. He settled comfortably in the position Lucy set herself in and drifted to sleep.

* * *

**I hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter, don't forget to review :)**

**~Karie**


	2. Chapter 2: Night

_**Night [nahyt]**_ – the period of darkness between sunset and sunrise.

* * *

_**Chapter 2**_

When Lucy awoke the next day, her butt felt a bit sore, but aside from that she was comfortable. She snuggled closer to her bed when she felt it breathe. Wait – beds don't breathe! She opened her eyes and was lightly blinded by the incoming rays that peaked through the window's curtains. Memories of the night before flooded back to her, at first she felt hurt once more, but then she relaxed when she remembered Gray's generosity and willingness to threaten her ex.

Ex…yeah, that's what Richard was, he was no longer anything to her, just a cold-hearted bastard who broke her heart.

"Hmm," she heard Gray groan as he woke up, he opened up his eyes and was greeted by warm, chocolate eyes, "morning, princess," he teased.

"Morning," she replied smiling before leaning back into his warm-cold chest. Before he was able to grasp what the blonde he was holding did, he heard a loud scream from upstairs.

"Kya!"

"Wendy?!" he yelled shocked, the two stood up faster than they should have and had a hard time maintaining their balance for a few seconds before rushing up the stairs.

"Wendy! Are you alright!" he shouted as he opened the door to his sister's room, who happened to be in the middle of undressing when he barged in.

"Get out, you pervert!" she threw a clock towards him, with a force so strong, that Lucy wondered how it only left a bruise in his face and not a broken nose.

"Aw, man," said Wendy, "I really did now. Gray-nii-chan, this is all your fault!"

"My fault, what did I do?!"

"Turn around, idiot!"

"Agh, sorry!"

"I'm so used to you waking me up that I forgot to set up my alarm clock last night! Now I'm late! I won't even have time to eat breakfast! This is going to be the _worst _day _ever_!"

"Well, that'll teach you to not rely too much on others – _oof_!" a pillow hit his face.

"G-Gray, why don't you start breakfast, and I'll help Wendy getting ready."

"You got it!" he said dashing out of the room before Wendy threw something harder at his head – like her literature book.

"What? No I can't ask you to do that!" replied the young girl.

"Nonsense! You helped me last night, now I'll help you."

Seeing there was no moving Lucy's stubbornness, she sighed in defeat, "alright…"

While Wendy dressed herself in her uniform, Lucy changed into her clothes from last night and dialed a number she knew too well, "hey, it's me," she said as she entered Wendy's room once more, "around what time will you be here?...Okay, perfect!...No, I'm fine, I just need to stop somewhere it's all…thanks, see you soon."

"Who was that?"

"Don't worry about it; let's focus on getting your hair untangled for now."

Downstairs, Gray cooked up a simple breakfast. Wendy wasn't entirely wrong about today, he had overslept as well, luckily for him it was his day off – thank God! He put the toast down as he put bacon and eggs in a plate for Wendy, another for Lucy, and one more for his. He had to thank the stars once more when he realized Ultear still wasn't back from her business conference or else she would make him make a healthier breakfast with more fruits than carbohydrates.

He heard the two coming down the stairs, "breakfast is ready!"

"Yay!" said Wendy as she sat herself down and started eating.

Gray stood rooted in the spot gaping at his little sister, '_What the-_'

Lucy sat down next to her and started eating, '_hmm, bacon and eggs, I haven't had you in forever~!_'

She looked up from her plate to see Gray still standing by the archway holding his cup of coffee.

"Gray? Aren't you going to eat breakfast?"

"T-there is no way in hell I'm letting her out of this house looking like - like _that_!" he pointed at Wendy.

"What! Why!"

"She looks cute!"

"Exactly!"

The two gave him a confused look, he explained himself, "She looks _way_ too cute, what if someone attacks her!"

"She's going to school…"

Wendy wanted to confront her brother about the fact that she was a growing adult – a fact he had yet to grasp, but once she saw the clock she almost choked on her toast and ate a bit faster.

"Besides, don't you think you're over exaggerating? She's a girl who needs to show off more of that pretty face."

"B-but-!"

"Done!" she exclaimed as stood up and put her dish in the sink a long with her now empty, glass of milk.

"I'm off to school!" she shouted as she quickly put on her school shoes and bolted out the door.

"Wendy-!"

Gray rushed to the door, in his hands his sister's bentou. He saw her not even a step away from the door, frozen in place, "Wendy what-?" His voice left him as he saw what was in front of him.

"Oh! You're here already!" said Lucy as she side stepped Gray and walked towards the long limo in front of their house.

"T-this is your ride?" asked Gray.

"Yep!" smiled Lucy naturally, "though I wish they would have brought mine and not my dad's…"

"Lucy-sama," said the voice of the chauffeur as he stepped out of the vehicle, "Good morning," he bowed towards her and the other two.

"Ano," said Wendy still shocked.

"I told you, Lucy is just fine, Loke," pouted Lucy.

"Loke?!" said Gray shocked when the chauffeur he took off his hat.

"Hey, there Gray," he greeted nonchalantly, "I knew this address was familiar!"

"No time for that now!" replied Lucy as she took the bentou in Gray's hands and handed it to his sister, "We have to get to Magnolia High - _pronto_!"

"Of course," he replied opening the door for the two females, "please enter so we can reach our destination as quickly as possible."

Wendy still in shock entered the long limo and sat there frozen. Lucy turned to Gray, "thanks, again for everything," she said as she sat next to his sister and rolled the window down, "I'll have her at school in the blink of an eye," she turned to Loke and said, "To Magnolia High! And step on it!"

Loke put on a pair of leather gloves, before putting his hands on the steering wheel and replying, "You got it, Lucy!"

Gray saw the speeding vehicle leave his house with one hand in the air, his mind still not registering what just happened, "…bye?"

* * *

Lucy rolled up the window and turned to the still frozen girl next to her, "Wendy?"

"Yeah?" her eyes still not leaving the road in front of them.

"Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah," she turned to her, eyes still wide, "I've just never thought I'd ever ride in one of these," she gave the older girl a wide smile.

Lucy smiled back, before she could comment, Loke said, "First stop, Magnolia High," and got off the car to open the door for Wendy on the other side.

"T-thank you, Loke-san," she replied as he helped her step out.

"You're welcome," he responded and closed the door behind him before returning to his spot behind the steering wheel.

"Wendy?" asked Lucy as she rolled down the window.

"Yes, Lucy?"

"Here," she handed her a card, "that's my card, if you ever need anything, just call, text or leave me an email."

"I-I can't really-!"

"Take it," she reassured, "you never know when you'll need it," Lucy heard the school bell ring, "now get to class before your _actually_ late."

"O-okay! Thank you, Lucy," she replied bowing low.

"It's no problem," the blonde replied as she rolled up the window once more and left the premises.

As they drove to the mansion, Lucy _had_ to ask, "_So_, how do you know Gray, Loke?"

"Gray and I are university buddies," he replied, "my question is how do _you_ know Gray?"

"Oh you know, here and there - wait did you say _university_ buddies?!"

"Yeah?"

"So he's _older_ than me?!"

"Uh, yes?"

"Oh my god," she said to herself. She thought Gray was around her age, but not by that much! "So, you're telling me he's twenty-_five_?"

"Twenty-six, actually."

"Oh god," she sighed, '_I just spend the night at a twenty-six years old man!'_ she thought to herself, '_Thank you, Wendy for being younger than him!_'

"Why? Did he do anything to you?" she saw him grip the steering wheel tighter.

"N-No!" she replied a bit too quickly, "I-I mean he hugged me but-"

"He hugged you!" they steered off course for a second.

"Well, more like comforted-!"

"Comforted! Why would you need any comforting?!"

"B-because…" she took a deep breath, "Richard…has been cheating on me…"

He turned around to face her, "he's been _what_!" he growled, thank the stars they were at a red light, "y-yeah," she replied, Gray was right, it was easier saying it now, the more she said it, the less it hurt her – because she now knew she was worth more than that.

"I'm gonna murder that piece of shit the next time he tries to get near you," he said turning back around to face the traffic.

Lucy giggled, "There's no need. Gray already promised him that."

"Then I don't have anything to worry about, except that I hope he'll call me when he decides to fulfill that promise," he chuckled.

After a while of driving, the two made it to the Heartfilia Residence.

"Welcome back, Lucy-sama," said the head butler as she stepped out of the limo.

"Thank you, Capricorn," she said as she walked through the open doors.

"Welcome back home, Lucy-sama!" said a row of maids.

"Thank you, it's good to be home," she replied, Capricorn at her side, "is my father still home or did he already leave for work?"

"He left a note saying he might be arriving late at work, he couldn't hold still yesterday, Lucy-sama. You really put him – and all of us - through a fright."

"I see, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to just disappear."

"That is alright, we're just glad to have you back home," he said as they walked to her father's study.

Capricorn knocked on the wooden double doors, entering when he earned an "enter."

"Jude-sama, Lucy-sama has returned home," he stated allowing Lucy to enter.

"Please give us some time alone, Capricorn."

"As you wish," and closed the door.

"Lucy!" he exclaimed holding his only daughter in his arms, "Do you have any idea how worried, I was?"

"I'm sorry, daddy," she replied hugging her father tightly.

"If you _ever_ need to be alone, just leave a note, a voice message, even a _text_ message will suffice."

"Okay," she replied nodding her head, her father never liked receiving text messages, so the fact that he even suggested told her that she had really scared him.

"Dad! I heard Lucy is back home!" someone exclaimed as the doors barged opened.

"Laxus!"

"Laxus, I've told you many times to knock before you enter," he scolded his oldest.

"Sorry, I just got relieved," he turned to his sister, "do you have any idea how much you made me worry?" he asked pulling her cheeks, "you made cancel my date! _Again_!"

"I _sowwy_!" she apologized through her pinched cheeks.

He glared at her playfully, before letting go of her cheeks. Lucy rubbed her cheeks lightly from the sting they had just been caused.

"Now, Lucy, would you mind explaining what happened?" asked her father.

She sighed as she nodded her head and sat at one of her father's office chairs. After explaining what she saw, and what she did after (omitting the part that she fell asleep and was comforted by Gray – there was no way she was going to take that chance again, especially after Loke's reaction!), she looked up to see their faces. If there was ever a time where her father and brother looked the same was this moment right now.

While Laxus had more muscle mass, the two still looked equally frightening. Their noses flared and she could just see their eyes twitch with each breath.

"A-ano?"

"I'm gonna _strangle_ him," said Laxus standing up from his seat and pacing around the room, she turned to look at her dad; she noted that while he looked like he was taking it a bit better than her brother, the twitch in his eye said otherwise…

"I," he started he took a deep breath, "I am going to go to work now," Lucy blinked back, say what now? Laxus turned to his father shocked, "because if I don't, I mind end up doing something I wouldn't regret!" and with that he grabbed his coat and left the two of them dumbfounded.

"Capricorn, I'm off to work!" they heard him exclaim as he made his way to where Lucy had been dropped off at not too long ago.

"Did he just-?"

"Yeah…"

The two looked at each other before Laxus excused himself to go to their training room, stating that he didn't want to "break something so valuable it would take him his retiring payment to payoff."

"Lucy-sama, your friends are here, would you like for me to direct them to the tea room?"

"Yes please, tell them I'll be down soon," she answered. Why couldn't they have arrived earlier? That way she wouldn't have to repeat the story _so_ _many_ times! She sighed and left her father's study to go to her room and change her clothes into something much more casual and comfortable.

* * *

Wendy looked at the card in her hands, school turned out to not only be better but more lively than usual. Thanks to Lucy dropping her off, she was able to make to her first period with time to spare _and _with enough time to review her notes for her exams. She felt confident in them and was more than glad that this was going to her last and only year taking Government.

Wendy looked at herself in her mirror, Lucy was right, she really did have a pretty face. Her friends at school said so too, and they said she looked cuter than she normally did – her dense childhood friend Romeo said so too! Which made it a win-win situation for her part. She sighed as she once again stared at the card in her hands.

'_I'll give it to Gray-nii-chan_,' she thought to herself, she stood up from her seat and looked at her clock, 9:06 pm – her brother should still be up. She reached his door and knocked, "Gray-nii-chan?"

"Come in, Wendy," he replied. She entered the room and found it dimly lit with papers all over the place, a couple of boxes here and there, and his computer on his bed with what seemed like 200 different programs were open.

"Whoa! What happened here?" she asked.

"Oh, you know the usual," he turned to her as he took off his glasses, "turns out, Ultear will need to stay a while at her business conference. Something about a snowstorm or something, I don't know, I wasn't really listening," he said shaking his head.

"Why? Thinking too much about Lucy rather than your own onee-chan?"

"W-what?!" his face turned red.

"Ha! I was right!" exclaimed Wendy happily.

"Yeah, yeah," he waved her comment away, "anyway, I know you didn't come here to ask about my distractions, what's up?"

Wendy handed him the card, "this is Lucy's card, she said I could use it to contact her if I ever needed something."

"Then why are you-?"

"I know you guys just met yesterday."

"How did you-!"

"The obvious fact that; one, she was dressed as if she came from a get together; two, she didn't know what you did for a living; and three, your stupid face when her limo was in front of our house."

"Hey! My face isn't stupid," he murmured.

She giggled, "besides, I know you want to ask her how she was," she pushed the card more towards him, "come on, take it Gray-nii-chan; my hand's getting tired~!"

"Okay, okay," he replied, "I get the picture," he took the card from her and let her leave his room, "Wendy?"

"Yes?"

"Thanks," he smiled at her.

"You're welcome," she replied, "besides if I don't push you, you won't ever get a girlfriend and you shall be alone for all eternity!" she laughed closing the door behind her. He laughed at her antics, she wasn't exactly wrong. He only ever had one other girlfriend whom he had a long time relationship – and that was _way_ back in high school.

He looked down at the card and started to think about his next move. His next move? Where did that come from?! He shook his head before looking at the spot Wendy had been, she was planting too many of her ideas in his head. He didn't like Lucy that way! He just met her! Not to mention, she just _broke up_ with a bastard – and although he knew _his_ name, there was no way in both heaven and hell that he would call him by that, he wasn't worth it.

He thought about writing an email to her, but then that would require him to send more than just a basic how are you. A text would do fine, but he didn't really like to text that much…or was it that he just wanted to hear her sweet voice? Oh! There, he did it again!

'_Damn it, Wendy!_' he thought to himself.

That just left his one last option, to call. He wouldn't exactly be up to anything – it was simply a faster way to communicate to her than through email or text. Right?

He grabbed his cell phone from his desk and dialed the number carefully; he patiently waited for her to answer,

"_Hello?_" she said in a careful voice

"Lucy, it's me, Gray."

"_Gray! How did you get my number?_"

"Wendy gave it to me."

"_Ah, I see…_"

"Did I call at a bad time?"

"_Just a bit-_"

"_Lucy who are you in the phone with?_"

"_Is it that jerk, Richard?_"

"_If it's him, give me the phone-_"

"_Wait it's not – Lisanna!_"

"_Listen here, you bastard, if you ever come near Lucy every again, I promise you I won't hold back Natsu this time! Oh! And I can assure you my sister is looking for your sorry ass, she may look like an angel – but deep down she's a devil…You hear me!_"

"Y-yes?" he said a bit afraid.

"_Lisanna!_"

"_You tell him!_"

"_Don't forget to add that I will hunt him down myself!_"

"_Erza!_"

"_I said **did you hear me**?_"

"Y-yes!" he exclaimed.

"_Wait a minute, that doesn't sound like Dick-Head…_"

"_That's because it isn't!_" he heard Lucy say, there was a bit of struggle from the other line before he heard her voice once more.

"_This is Gray! The one who **helped** me!_"

"_Oh!_" they said in understanding.

"_Sorry about that Gray-kun._"

"…_Please forget everything you just heard now, specially that part about my sister!_" he heard the girl known as Lisanna say.

"Hey, no harm done," he said as he picked up the papers on the floor, "though it's reassuring to know that Lucy has such scary friends to protect her," he said lightly making the girls on the other line giggle.

"_Anyway, any reason you called?_"

"Just wanted to make sure you were alright," he replied sincerely.

"_Aw~!_"

"_That one's a keeper right there, Lu-chan!_"

"_Levy-chan!_"

"_Excuse me for a minute,_" he heard her say, there were more noises going through but once that was over he heard her close the door to someplace, "_Okay, now we're good!_"

"…I was on speaker wasn't I?"

"…_Yeah…sorry!_"

"Hey don't worry about it, any reason why I've been cursed and am being hunted down for?"

"_I told them about me and Richard, they reacted a whole lot worse than my dad did, though he did say that he needed a distraction as to not do something he wouldn't regret._"

"Remind me never to get on your father's bad side."

"_Noted!_"

"So…where are you right now?"

"_In my bathroom._"

"Why?"

"_It's the only place where they won't overhear my conversation – and were the door isn't as easy to jimmy the lock._"

"Ah, I see…"

"_Yeah…_"

The two listened to each other through silence, '_maybe, I should have texted her instead._'

"_So…what have you been up to?_"

He snapped out of his train of thought, "Nothing really, just getting everything ready for my meeting tomorrow."

"_In that case, good luck at your meeting,_" she said happily.

"Thanks," he rubbed his head, '_Don't do it Gray, just don't-_' "Are you doing anything next week, Lucy?" _And_ he did it. He face-palmed himself when he didn't hear a response anytime soon.

"_N-no, not really, why?_"

'_Great…think, Gray, THINK! _'"Oh, umm, Wendy's school's having their annual school festival, I was wondering if you wanted to come along?" he paused and waited for her response, realizing that what he said sounded like, he quickly added, "I-I mean to come and support Wendy's class! I heard they were doing a café, and if you want you could invite your fri-"

"_Sure, I'll go!_"

He almost dropped the papers her was holding, "R-really?"

"_Yeah! Though I don't know about my friend's I'll have to ask them._"

"Sure, not a problem!"

"_Great!...I'll text you later?_"

"Yeah, definitely!"

"_Okay! Then, goodnight, Gray._"

"Night, Lucy."

He closed his phone with its cover, before throwing himself on his bed – almost dropping his laptop in the process. He stared up at the ceiling smiling like a teenager who had just asked the girl her liked on a first date –

'_Wait **what**?!_'

He sat quickly as he realized what he just referred himself to, "it's not a date…only Lucy and I going to support went together with a bunch of her friends who might or might not be going…" He fell flopped on his back once more still smiling like an idiot, "Aw, geez," he rubbed his face, "just what's wrong with me?" he opened his phone cover and looked at the number he had just dialed. He clicked on it and pressed "save" and he typed on it "Lucy."

For whatever reason, he didn't feel like writing her last name unlike the rest of his contacts. He sighed as he sat back up and continued to pick up his mess, unlike before he was more willing to get his work done and have his day free for next week.

* * *

When Lucy left the sanity of her bathroom, she was greeted with the sight of her friends toppling over as she opened the door.

"Discrete much?" she asked.

"Sorry, Lu-chan."

"We didn't mean to listen in."

"Speak for yourselves you two, I want to know!" exclaimed Lisanna, "So who exactly **_is_** Gray? And where are you going with him?"

"Well, if you must know," she said dramatically as they sat on her king bed, "he is the one that took me in for the night – not like that!" Levy was giving her the knowing look, "and we're just going to support his sister's school festival next week, you guys are invited to come if you'd like?"

"Of course, we'll go! We need to know who this savior of yours is! And by 'we' I mean _me_!" answered Lisanna.

"Are you sure that she's his sister and not his daughter?"

"Erza is right, you did say he was 26…," added Levy.

"Yeah and his sister is about 17-18, maybe?"

"You know, those are crucial details you should not hold back on," replied Levy pouting.

"Sorry, sorry, but you guys never asked-"

Erza interrupted, "You spend the night at another man's house, a man who lives alone – with a sister who might or might have been home – after you find out your dick-head of an ex-boyfriend has been cheating on you! I think every detail _after_ finding out is important, asked or not."

She looked at her friends, "touché you guys, _touché**.**_"

"Hime-sama," said Virgo from the door, "I have brought you snacks for you and your friends."

"Thank you, Virgo."

"Is it punishment time, Hime-sama?"

"N-no, that will be all, thanks," she sweat-dropped.

When the pink haired maid left, her friends once again bombarded her, "so tell us? Is this a new thing you're trying out?"

"What thing?"

"Spending the night at a man's house and then secretly talking to him on the phone at _night_ yet again?"

"I-it's not!" she blushed, "besides, Gray and I are just friends – acquaintances to say the most."

"Yes, but acquaintances don't necessarily invite one another to _dates_!"

"It's not a _date_!"

"Not _yet_!"

"Ugh," she groaned as she looked at her friends, "so what? Do you guys want to come?"

"Of course!" the all shouted.

"I have to meet the guy who will be escorting you from now on!"

"I need to have a visual to know if I need to hunt him down!"

"And I just want to know if he's good looking enough for you!"

The group of girls laughed, Lucy couldn't really have asked for a better group of girl friends than the ones she had right here in her room. She smiled and grabbed her phone, after unlocking it she saved his number from her "recent calls" list and texted him her friends' reply.

-They said yes. :)

-_Great, the more the merrier right?_

-Right!

For some reason, she felt as if her response wasn't as cheerful as she wanted it to be, was it because she didn't include a smiley face? Or was it because it wasn't going to be a date anymore?

'_Wait what!_' Lucy blushed. No, she and Gray were merely acquaintances, just two people trying to get to know each other more, right?

'_Damn it, this is all Lisanna and Levy's fault!_'

* * *

**Yay! Day 2/Chapter 2 is completed, though I have to warn you guys, this story will probably be continuing further on _after_ GrayLu Week.**

**Well, don't forget to follow and review.**

**~Karie**


	3. Chapter 3: Fear

_**Fear [feer]**_ – (3) concern or anxiety; solicitude. (5) something that causes feelings of dread or apprehension; something a person is afraid of. (6) anticipation of the possibility that something unpleasant will occur.

* * *

_**Chapter 3**_

Lucy for the rest of the week, kept on tossing and turning every night when she went to sleep. She kept awaiting for Friday to arrive faster than ever before! Was it because of Gray?

'_N-no! That's preposterous! I just want to see Wendy and see how she's doing!_'

But then again, she could have always asked Gray for her number...

'_No, Lucy! Bad Lucy! You just broke up with that **bastard**, love and dating are the last thing that should be on your mind!_'

She looked at the boxes adorning her room. When she had made it officially clear to _Richard_ (ugh, that left a bitter taste in her tongue, even in her mind), she asked her father if she could move back home – of course Jude had no problem with that decision considering it meant having his baby girl closer to him and away from leeching men. Although it wouldn't be the same as living alone in her apartment, she didn't mind, there were times she felt lonely at her apartment whenever her friends didn't visit.

She asked for the following week to be off after that, she didn't really want to go back to work so soon knowing _he_ would be there. She sighed as she opened only the third box out of the many she needed to unpack.

_Knock_, _knock._

"Come in!"

"Hey, sis," said Laxus entering.

"Hey, Laxus," she said wiping her forehead, "What's up?"

"I think I'm gonna get dumped," he said in a hollow voice as he sat in one of her couches.

"What?!"

"Yeah," he continued, "I think Luna's lost the spark."

"Luna lost the spark?"

"Yeah!" he said standing up and pacing her room, "like she won't answer any of my calls, or even give me the time of day!"

"Laxus, don't you think you're acting a little too out of character?" she asked unconvinced.

"What do you mean?"

"When has Luna _ever_ given you a time of day? And she _always_ answers your calls! I even heard you guys talking last night when you were on the phone on the patio!"

"You were _eavesdropping_?!"

"I was _passing_ by!"

"So you really think I'm not gonna get dumped?"

"Nope!" she said sounding the "p."

He stared at her for a minute before walking to her door and opening it, "I told you so."

"Damn it!" she heard a voice say.

"You owe me 20 bucks!"

"Yeah, yeah," a young woman with caramel honey brown hair and ocean green eyes entered the room. She was around Lucy's height, but a bit smaller and her hair reached her waist in waves. "Hey there, Lucy."

"Hi, Luna!" smiled the blonde, "what brings you here? I mean besides 'dumping' my brother?"

Luna laughed, "Sorry to disappoint but that won't be happening today."

"Aw~!" she said pretending to be disappointed

The brunette giggled, "I came today to help you unpack, I heard what happened, I'm so sorry," she said making her way to the blonde and hugging her, "But don't you worry. If I ever see his sorry face, it'll be the last time you do as well."

"Thanks, Luna," smiled Lucy, the two let go of each other and she looked around the room, "well, these boxes aren't going to unpack themselves."

"Do you want me to help?" asked Laxus.

Luna looked at him skeptically, "you want to help your sister unpack?" He raised an eyebrow in response, she continued, "Unpack boxes that may or may not contain her necessities? Like her… intimates?"

Laxus white, "I-I'm gonna go out then," he said backing out of the room, "call me if you need anything," he shut the door faster than either could react. Lucy laughed at his reaction; only her brother's girlfriend would be able to make him act like that, "Sometimes I don't know if you guys are long lost siblings or lovers."

"Hmm," the brunette hummed putting up pictures back in their place on the wall, "when you meet _the_ _one_, he should be able to be anything to you. Your brother, your best friend, your father, and of course your lover," she winked back at the blonde.

"Yeah but – wait did you say _the_ _one_?"

Luna nodded.

"As in Laxus is…_THE ONE!_" she looked down at the brunette's left hand, "_no way…_"

Luna held up her hand proudly showing off the diamond encrusted engagement ring in her ring finger, "_Way!_"

Lucy screamed as she jumped her way towards her soon to be sister-in-law, "when did this happen?!"

"The night you disappeared off the face of the Earth."

"Why didn't you guys say anything!"

"_Because_..."

"Because?"

"I wanted to give some good news in the midst of your storm! Besides, this way it's much more fun seeing your reaction than just _telling_ you! Am I right?"

"I really want to hate you for not telling me! But I can't!" Lucy couldn't contain the smile that spread from her lips to her eyes. It was something Luna could always do, as if she was an angel sent from heaven that just lit up your day with just her voice – though knowing her for so many years she knew better. As kind and generous as she was, Luna had a strict set of rules that she followed by, which helped her brother during his rebellious days or rather years. While Luna could look like an angel, she could also be the opposite of one – sort of like Mira – only much scarier since her eyes would turn icy blue.

"Well, enough about me and my far, _far_, away wedding, tell me about this 'friend' of yours."

"How did you know?"

"Mira told me."

"Of course she did," Lucy sighed, "where do I begin?"

"Uh, the beginning of course!"

"Well, he's name is Gray…"

'_So much for unpacking my things today_,' she thought to herself as she told Luna her day – _night_ – with Gray.

* * *

Gray paced back and forth from his bed, he was stuck between two shirts a navy blue one and a light blue one. He was already done dressing up – except for his shirt. He looked at the clock, if he didn't choose now he would be late for his date with Lucy.

"It's _not _a_ date_!" he said out loud.

"What's not a date?"

"Ah!" he screamed. He turned to his left and saw his sister dressed in her casual clothes, it turns out their costumes weren't ready yet, so they had to change at school, "Wendy, what did I tell you about knocking?"

"I did knock."

"And?"

"And you said 'come in'."

"I did?"

"Yeah…," she said she looked at the shirts on his bed picked up the first one, "put this one on."

"Why?"

"Are you going to doubt a girl's sense of fashion?"

"_Touché_," he said as he quickly buttoned it up, he grabbed his keys off his desk along with his phone – 15 minutes to spare, perfect, "Agh!" he said frustrated.

"What's wrong now?" she asked him a bit impatient, Wendy looked at him suspiciously before grinning, "I know what your problem is," she said teasingly.

"Oh, do you now?"

"Yep! Your thinking about Lucy and your date with her!"

"Am not!" he argued as he closed the door to his room and followed her down the stairs.

"Are too~!" she sang as she put on her flats, "I mean why else would you be so nervous?"

"I'm not nervous," he mumbled.

"Yes, you are~," she giggled before pointing at his hands as he tried locking the door, "Why else would your hand keep missing the keyhole?"

He looked down at his hand, she was right…she always was, "Look, we're just going to support you and your class, alright?"

"Kay, whatever you say~!"

"Would you stop that?"

"Make me!" she said before sticking out her tongue at him and getting inside his car. Gray sighed as he sat down and brought the vehicle to life. They drove for a short amount of time, as Gray parked the car, Wendy kept jumping up and down in her seat, "excited much?"

"Very!" she said as she opened the car door and stepped out.

"Just don't forget to keep your phone on you at all times and -"

"To call you if I get in any kind of trouble, I know, I know, I'm not a little girl anymore!"

"I was going to say to call when you were done, but that too," he said locking the doors to his car. The two walked a little until they reached the school entrance, "I'll wait for Lucy and the others here; you should go and get ready."

"Alright, see you in a bit," she said as she jogged to her classroom.

Gray looked at his watch, maybe he showed up a bit _too_ early.

"Gray!" he heard a voice say from a afar, he looked from his watch and saw Lucy approaching him, she was wearing a cute dress with a belt in the middle and low wedges, "I hope we didn't make you wait long."

"Not at all," he said smiling down at her, '_wait, did she say 'we'?_' He looked away from her for a moment and saw that there was a group of people he didn't know behind her, '_had they always been there?_'

"Let me introduce you to everyone," she said using her hand to direct to the people in the group, "These are my close friends; Levy, Gajeel, Erza, Jellal, Lisanna and Natsu. Guys this is Gray, the one that let me stay the other night at his house."

"Nice to me meet you, Gray-kun," bowed Levy.

"'Sup?"

"Thank you for watching over Lucy the other day," said Erza as she bowed as well.

"It was no problem," he replied before his eyes landed on Lisanna, "Don't I know you from somewhere?"

Lisanna blushed lightly, "if it's about that phone call please forget everything I said! I'm truly sorry!" she said as she bowed.

He let out a low chuckled, "relax, no harm done right?"

"Right," she replied smiling.

"But you do seem familiar…are you related to Elfman by any chance?"

"Yes! He's my big brother," she said as she tilted her head back.

He clapped his hands as he had an "aha!" moment, "I knew it! You're the young girl from the pictures! Your brother and I used to be in the same judo team back when I went to college. He would always rant about being a 'man' but he always treasured every postcard you guys send him."

"Ah, I see," smiled Lisanna, "Ne, Natsu, don't you think that's sweet of Elf-nii-chan?" she turned to her boyfriend, "Natsu?"

Natsu wasn't listening to Lisanna at the moment he was too busy glaring at Gray, "_Fullbuster_."

"_Dragneel,_" he reaped in the same manner, the sparks that flew through their eyes didn't go unnoticed by anyone.

"Ano, do you guys know each other?"

"Something like that," replied Gray still not taking his eyes off the pink-haired man.

"You see, Romeo happens to his sister's friend-"

"More like nuisance," mumbled Gray.

"What did you say, Ice Freak?!"

"You heard me, Ash Brain!" their heads collided as they continued to glare at one another. Lucy turned to her friends for any sort of help, they shrugged making her turn to face the two again, "mind explaining for the rest of us?"

Gray sighed as he pulled back and face the reason he was here in the first place – aside from Wendy that is.

"You see, _Dragneel _here" he pointed a thumb over to Natsu, "encouraged that mini-me of himself to drag Wendy out of her studies when she was younger and made her come back home late and without a warning or notice."

"Oh please, you just can't get over the fact that your beloved little sister was spending time with someone other than you," replied said person in question.

"Can you blame me? He _made _her skip school_! Twice!_ "

"If I remember correctly, she went along _wi-lling-ly._"

"Okay, that's enough you two," stepped in Erza when she saw their fists shake, "we're here to support Romeo's and Wendy-chan's class today; we don't need their brothers getting into a fist fight to grab people's attention."

"Y-yes," said Natsu when he saw the look in Erza's eyes.

"R-right," replied Gray - intimidated by the younger woman.

Erza smiled and walked ahead of the group, "now, what shall we do first?" she asked when she turned around with a sparkle in her eyes.

Surprised at the sudden change, Gray answered, "well, it's still early but some of the stands have already set up around here," he pointed to the couple stand open.

"Ooh, they have snow cones!" exclaimed Lucy when she saw one that caught her eye.

"You want one, Luce?" asked Natsu ready to take out his wallet.

"Yeah, but I can buy my own, thanks," said Lucy stopping him.

"What flavor would you like, Miss?" asked the student in charge of the stand.

"Hmm, what flavors do you have?"

"We have the popular flavors cherry red and raspberry blue, but we also have our Fullbuster Special Surprise which is one of _our _most popular own flavor."

"Fullbuster? As in _Gray_ Fullbuster?" asked Lucy while pointing behind her.

"His sister actually," she answered before bowing towards the older man, "it's nice to see you again, Gray-san."

Gray nodded in acknowledgement, "this is Wendy-senpai's special creation, although we wanted to name it after her - she said it wouldn't catch on."

"Give me..." Gray counted the group with him, "8 of those. My treat."

"What?!"

"Gray-kun, you don't have to!"

"Hey, I can pay for my own!"

"Nah," Gray brushed them off, "consider it a thanks for coming to support my sister."

"Someone has a sister complex - _oof_," mumbled Gajeel before getting jabbed in the side by Levy.

"A-are you sure?" asked Lucy.

"Yeah, don't worry about it," he smiled as he paid for the frozen treats.

The group looked at the yellowish-colored shaved ice.

"So what exactly is it?" asked Jellal, the only one brave enough to try to taste.

"Oh!" exclaimed the student who noticed she forgot to explain the frozen treat, "it's a special blend between Lucuma and Maracuya or as it is more commonly known; passion fruit."

"Loco-what now?"

"Lucuma," corrected Lucy, "it's an indigenous fruit that grows in the subtropical valleys of the Andes in Peru, in English they are known as eggfruit."

"How do you know that?" asked Gajeel.

"My dad brings me some so Aries can make ice cream from them."

"Right," he nodded, "rich people and their money."

"Hey!"

"Anyway, try it," said Gray as he took a small bite, "it's really good."

Lucy gladly sank her lips into the yellowish shaved ice. She tasted the light sourness of the Maracuya but it was quickly overtaken by the sweetness of the Lucuma, leaving her tongue tangling with joy, "hmm," she hummed as she opened her eyes, "delicious! Wendy really outdid herself!"

Seeing Lucy's reaction, the others hesitantly took a small bite and savored the mixed flavors. Their reactions were similar to that of Lucy's and Gray couldn't help the small ego boost that grew in him knowing that his sister was the one that made them smile that way.

"How did Wendy come across foreign fruits?" asked Lucy as they walked more into school.

"Ultear had gotten her first promotion a couple of years ago and was directed to oversee the productivity of a new hotel in a city in Peru called Moyobamba."

"Moyobamba? I've never heard of it," interrupted Levy lightly.

"That's only natural," he replied, "it's a small city but its beautiful none the less. It's known as The City of Orchids for its 3,500 species of orchids."

"Wow," Lucy was amazed, she had never visited the Andes, let alone South America - although she had heard how beautiful it was from her father.

"Yeah, well, long story-short, she came across a local home business that sold fruit Popsicles, tried a couple, learned what they where and brought some over for us to enjoy."

"Isn't that expensive?" asked Erza, "importing foreign fruits is really rare, including those from South America."

"True, but you could say my sister is...," he paused for a moment, thinking of the right word to use, "I guess you could say persistent - or rather persuasive."

The group laughed nervously, whoever this woman was she was either scary or incredible.

"Oh! Look Gajeel-kun!" said Levy pointing to a certain booth, "They have a limited edition copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard!" She dragged her boyfriend along as she basically jumped up and down.

"Tch, how much for the book?" He asked.

"Oh sorry, but this book isn't for sale," replied the student in charge, "it's one of our prizes for winning."

"What do I have to do?" asked Levy.

"Well, it's simple really," he smiled down at her, "all you have to do is beat our captain in an exhibition boxing match; since you are trying to get one of our first level prizes."

"Eh!?" Levy looked disheartened.

Gajeel took out his wallet and slammed some money on the counter, "so where do I find this captain of yours?"

The student forced a smile from the scared face he had on, "r-right this way," he said stepping outside of the counter and motioning them to the side where a boxing ring was set up.

"Was that there a minute ago?" asked Lucy.

"I would be lying to you if I said yes," answered Gray as he saw Lucy's friend being suited up with gloves, a headgear, a mouth piece (which he handed back saying he didn't need it), and a body protector.

"Hey, no fair! I want to try as well!" said Natsu as he made his to the ring.

"Next time, Pinkie," said Gajeel as the boxing captain stepped into the ring.

"This is going to be a while," said Lisanna as she walked to her childhood friend before turning around, "you guys go on ahead, we'll catch up later!"

The four stood there for a moment as Gajeel charged forward before walking further in to the main building.

The group wandered around as students rushed around fixing last minute details, they stopped at a couple of places that gathered their interest before finally making it to Wendy's class.

"Eh?! What do you mean?!" they heard as Gray opened the sliding door to the classroom.

"It's true, apparently another class is having a café as well, only they are cosplaying!"

"Man, what do we do now? We need something to grab their attention!" said Wendy before she spotted them at the doorway, an innocent smile crossed her face, "Oh, Gray-nii-chan~!"

* * *

Lucy tied the white apron and turned to look at Erza, "why do I get the feeling that you're enjoying this more than you should?"

Erza turned around to face her, she was wearing the same maid outfit as Lucy, only she had a confident smile, "We did say we would help."

Lucy sweat-dropped, "just don't scare them off," she said as she walked back to the classroom. On her way their she felt eyes on her, something that wasn't really new to her considering this was how she had spend her days in high school. When she reached her destination, she was greeted by a huge line of girls waiting outside.

"Lucy-nee-san, quickly, we need you to start serving," said Romeo who was dressed as an English butler, "is Erza-san ready?"

"Oh she's ready alright," she replied as she looked behind her, the redhead was posing and had sparkles around her as people took her picture.

The two helped as much as they could but the line didn't seem to be getting any smaller.

"I don't know whether I should be happy this turned out to be a huge success, or irritated that I can't enjoy this festival," said Lucy when she went to the back of the classroom to get her order.

"I don't know what you're talking about, I'm enjoying myself," said Erza with a smile and a glint in her eyes.

"Of _course_ you are…"

Suddenly there was a huge scream from the other side of the curtain that almost made Lucy drop her tray.

"What the-?"

The curtain opened and in came Gray and Jellal with signs that said, '**_Come to Class 3-2's Café_**!' they were both wearing matching the same English Butler outfit as Romeo.

"Hey, I hope this is more than enough of a crowd for you Wendy," said Gray as loosened his tie.

"Yeah, thanks Gray-nii-chan!" replied Wendy, "even though it's a little hectic right now, it was more than enough."

"I still don't see why you had extra costumes," he said narrowing his eyes.

"Oh we didn't," said Romeo as he set down his tray with empty plates and cups, "those were the ones we bought to use as models for these," he pulled his jacket a bit.

"Right," replied Gray, his eyes not leaving the young man beside him, "well, if that's the case, then I hope you don't mind if we check out the competition and the rest of the festival."

"Not at all," replied Wendy as she left the back and went back to serving.

"What do you say? Want to accompany me?" he asked Lucy.

"Sure, just let me finish with this," she said as she placed her order in her tray.

"Do you guys want to come along?" he asked Jellal.

"I think we'll stay here," he answered, "I doubt Erza is going to leave any time soon." The two peeked through the curtain and saw Erza seductively serving a group of boys their cake.

"Somehow I feel as if this normally happens," said Gray as he pulled back and turned to see Lucy turn rather quickly and slip, luckily Gray steadied her in time to avoid damage, "I think you've been working too hard," he took the tray from her hands, "let me take care of this while you go and change, I don't think you'll be comfortable walking around like that."

"But-" she started but before she could say anything further, he was already halfway through the curtain, "Geez, I was doing perfectly fine," she pouted but none the less did as she was told.

When she came back to the classroom, she found Gray already waiting for her, wearing the clothes he had come with.

"Sorry I made you wait," she said.

"Not at all, I just got here myself," he said. It was then that they realized that they had this exchange only hours ago making him chuckle and her giggle.

"Shall we, princess?" he asked as he offered her his hand.

"We shall," she replied as she placed her small hand in his larger one.

Their first stop was the competition from only a couple of halls away. Even with all the publicity Gray and Jellal had done, the cafe was still running just fine its own long line. Mutually deciding it was a bad idea to actually go in and see what was so good about it, they opted for casually walking around the halls and experiencing the rest of the festival. They saw a class' representation of Romeo and Juliet and even went back to the front so Gray could win Lucy a cute stuffed white rabbit, much to her delight.

Later they went to a haunted house that had been built by the track field.

"Do we really have to try this?" she asked warily.

He looked back at her, "Not really," he then changed his voice in a teasing a manner, "unless you're scared~"

"Am not!" She replied, too stubborn to admit that he was right.

"Okay," he said as he walked further on, "but if you're scared, I don't mind holding you once more," he winked at her.

She blushed a deep red as she recalled the last time he had. Flabbergasted, she walked passed him and into the creepy, dark make believe mansion in front of him instead of giving him the satisfaction of knowing what he made her feel.

As soon as she stepped one foot inside the door, she regretted her decision instantly. She remembered laughing all those times Ellen DeGeneres sent her writer Amy to those creepy haunted houses on Halloween in Los Angeles, but as she slowly walked through the place, she could see what was so scary about them. Just when she was getting used to the eeriness of the place, a creepy clown appeared in front of her making her scream and clutch onto the closest thing to her which in this case happened to be Gray.

"I thought you said you could handle it," he teased, although in the inside he was screaming. Why on earth did they have clowns here? It was a haunted house, not a haunted _circus_!

"Shut up," she said as she pressed herself closer to him and closed her eyes tightly.

He chuckled lightly, before awkwardly moving around the weird thing in front of him. However, that one clown was the just the beginning of everything. For the next couple of turns, they experienced something that was either disturbing or simply scarier than the one before it. As much pride as a man could have, Gray stayed strong...that is until near the end.

"See, Lucy," he said, "we're almost there. Just one more turn and -!"

He never got to finish his sentence since a clown popped in front of him - not the same one they had encountered at the entrance, a much frightening one. Unlike the first one which only had weird face painting and a rather disturbing smile, this one not only had the characteristics mentioned before but it also looked to be covered in blood and was holding a giant, fake (but realistic looking), knife in his hand.

The first noise that reached their ears was the sound of Lucy's scream that was oddly enough mixed with that of a male's. Gray grabbed her hand and basically pushed his was through to the exit.

Once they were a good distance away from the horror they had witnessed, they managed to calm down their hearts before Lucy said, "so..."

"So?" He said trying to play it cool.

"You're scared of clowns aren't you?" She said with a teasing smile.

"What! No! Maybe! So!" He said falling for her attack.

She laughed goodhearted, "Shut up," he mumbled as he blushed red and looked anywhere but her teasing chocolate eyes.

However from the corner of his eye he saw a very distinguished figure a couple of feet away from them.

"Gray?" She asked him when she saw his change in demeanor.

"Huh? Yeah, excuse me for a minute, Lucy. I'll be right back," he said as he walked towards the figure without taking his eyes off of it.

Gray knew that retreating figure, it was one he had gotten to know since he got to high school. It was the same one that used to follow him around and hide whenever he turned around. When he caught up to it he lightly but firmly grabbed her hand making her turn around.

"Juvia," he said.

"Gray-sama," she said surprised, "Juvia was not expecting to see you here..."

"You weren't expecting to see me at my _sister's_ school?" He narrowed his eyes.

"Well," she said not looking at him, "Juvia knew that Gray-sama would be here, but Juvia was not expecting to be found in the middle of the crowd..."

He tightened his grip, "what are you doing here?"

"Gray-sama, you are hurting Juvia," she said wincing at his strength.

Just as Gray was about to ask again, another voice came from behind Juvia.

"Leave her alone, Gray."

"Lyon," he said in an icy voice.

Lyon stepped forward between the two, "Leave her alone, she didn't do anything to you."

"You're right," he went from glaring Juvia to glaring him, "you did - or rather you _both_ did."

"Why you-!"

"Lyon-sama, please stop. Juvia did not come here to see you fight Gray-sama!"

"But-!"

"Please, Juvia came today to make things right," her voice shook, but there was a conflict between stubbornness and fear in her eyes.

Lyon lowered his head and moved aside, though he did not stand too far back, only close enough to step in if needed to.

Gray turned to face Juvia.

"Gray-sama!" She started out strongly, "Juvia is - Juvia is sorry!"

He stood there, shocked.

Almost as if anticipating this, she continued, "Back then, Juvia never meant to hurt you! Or even for you to break your friendship with Lyon-sama. Juvia knows that what she did was wrong, but even so! Juvia never wanted to make Gray-sama suffer the same way she did once!"

"Juvia, I don't know what to say..." He was at a loss for words. Over the years, he had gotten over the resentment he held against his ex-girlfriend and ex-best friend, but it still hurt him to know that they had gone behind his back.

"Juvia...Juvia would like to know if Gray-sama would forgive her- and not only Juvia but Lyon-sama as well."

He looked at them unsure, there was only one question he needed answered, "I want - no I _need_ to know how long had you guys been together, before I caught you..."

Juvia looked at Lyon who silently answered her question, "it...there were no days before," he said, "I had confessed to Juvia only moments before. If anyone is to be blamed it's me. I-I was the one that initiated the kiss, not her. If you wanna take a punch then by all means-!"

Lyon hadn't even gotten the chance to finish his offer before he had been thrown back by the force of Gray's fist, "sorry, but I could hold myself back any longer."

He brought down his fist next to him and looked at it before shaking it, "that felt good," he said smiling a little. He turned to Juvia, her eyes held shock and fear in them, "does he make you happy?"

"W - what?"

"Does he?"

Juvia looked at the man on the ground who was holding his jaw and turned to Gray with confidence, "yes, Lyon-sama makes Juvia very happy."

He grinned, "then I have nothing to forgive you for," he said as he offered his best friend a hand.

"Thanks," he replied smiling as well.

"I knew I couldn't make you as happy as he does, it was only a matter of time," he mumbled as he turned around.

"Gray-sama!"

He turned to her, "Yes, Juvia?"

"Thank you," she said bowing respectfully.

He grinned at her and turned back once more, this time his hand waving towards her as if saying "no problem."

He went back to the spot he had left Lucy, but to his surprise, she wasn't there.

_'Maybe she went to go get a drink_,' he thought as he looked around.

However, that thought quickly disappeared from his mind as he saw the plush toy he had won for her on the ground. His body turned cold, he couldn't hear the people around anymore. He picked it up slowly, had the world around him disappeared? No, he knew they were there. He shook his head, as if shaking away the thoughts that kept bugging him, maybe Flame Head had dragged her off somewhere.

"Hey, Ice Freak."

'_Please let her be there,_' he thought as he turned our slowly. They were all there, all of Lucy's friends that is, but not her.

"Where's Lucy?"

'_Shit,_' he thought, not even his coulrophobia could muster the amount of dread he felt in the pit of his stomach. He felt sick…

* * *

**Okay, vocabulary time! :D _Coulrophobia_ is the fear of clowns, I tried to find out what Gray was afraid of, but I couldn't find anything so I came up with that. I know that a phobia is much stronger than just fear, but I didn't really have time to expand on that concept.**

**As for Moyobamba, it's a real city in Peru. I couldn't come up with a brand new flavor so when I went to a Peruvian Festival I ordered a mix of Lucuma and Maracuya shaved ice and it was** _**amazing**_**~!**

**I know that this isn't exactly, completely all about fear-fear, but it was the only way I could incorporate it into the story without loosing the flow of the plot. Please leave a review!**

**~Karie**


	4. Chapter 4: Separation

_**Separation [sep-uh-rey-shuh-n]**_ – an act or instance of separating or the state of being separated.

* * *

_**Chapter 4**_

The others watched as Natsu roughly pushed Gray against the wall, "What the _hell_ do you mean you don't know?"

"Natsu, calm down," said Jellal, although he wasn't making an effort on stopping him.

"I can't calm down," he said as he once again pushed him back, "where is Lucy?"

"I already told you I don't know," replied Gray as he tried to loosen Natsu's grip on him, "I left her alone for like five minutes-"

"Are you an idiot!" Natsu banged him against the wall before letting him fall to the ground, "why did you leave her alone in the first place!"

"Look, I had some personal business to attend to, alright?" he said as he tried to get up, but it seemed that Natsu's constant pushing was able to mess up his sense of balance, so he leaned against the wall for support.

"Personal? Like what?" said Gajeel with a scowl in his face.

"That's none of your business," he replied as he tried to not look at them. This was all his fault, why didn't he take Lucy with him? Oh right, he didn't want her to see him so pathetic.

_'How ironic,_' he thought.

"Why you-!" Natsu tightened his hand into a fist and pulled back to give him a punch but before he could even blink, a figure stepped in between them.

"Stop!"

His fist stopped only millimeters away from a pair of warm brown eyes, "Don't hurt, Gray-nii-chan!"

"Wendy..."

She turned away from the group and helped her brother keep his balance by making him lean over her, "why are you doing this?! Gray-nii-chan isn't the one at fault for this!"

"Wendy that's enough," said Gray trying to stop her from saying too much

"_No_!" she turned to him, "You and Ultear-nee-chan have always taught me never to use violence to solve a conflict!" She turned back to the group, "why are you hurting my brother?"

Natsu backed down, he had known Wendy ever since she was a little girl. She was always docile and incapable of hurting a fly, let alone others; but the way she was staring at him and his friends made him think otherwise.

He looked away from her, her eyes were too much like Lucy's at the moment, he couldn't take it. Erza saw this and stepped in, "Lucy is gone-"

"So you decided to beat my brother because she isn't with him!"

"No-"

"Then you don't have an excuse," she said as she walked a bit away from the group to let her brother sit in one of the benches available. Once he was settled, she glared at them, "ever thought she might have just gone to the restroom or _something_?"

"We did," said Levy speaking up, "but she wouldn't just go without telling anyone, and besides she would have texted us instead of making us all worry!"

Gray and Wendy looked at them weirdly, why were they freaking out so much? Sure, she had been gone for 10-15 minutes, but why the big fuss? They knew she had money, but a kidnap in plain sight was just digging their own grave.

Gray's stomach plummeted to the ground; that feeling was back again. He looked down at the once white plush toy in his hand, if something bad happened to Lucy because of him...

"I think I'm going to be sick," he murmured before quickly getting up and rushing to the nearest trash can, the plush toy forgotten on the floor by Wendy's feet.

Wendy picked up the toy and looked at it, it was one of the prizes she had seen the Archery Club give out.

When her brother came back looking a little pale, she put the toy down next to him and rubbed his back lightly.

"I'll go get you some water," she said before she glared at the group and made her way.

They guiltily looked down at the floor mostly the girls because they had done nothing to stop their boyfriends from acting the way they did.

"Ano," said Lisanna as she sat next to Gray, "I'm terribly sorry the boys went so rough on you..."

"It's not that," he said as he shook his head, "if anything that's what has been bothering me the least."

He looked at her, what where they hiding from them. Before he could continue Wendy came back, "here," she said handing him the cup of water.

"Thanks," he said as he drowned the liquid faster than necessary, "now can someone explain to me, why Lucy missing for such a short time is a big deal?"

The six looked at one another unsurely, "I think that's the least you guys can do considering you almost ruined my cerebellum," he added in an irritated tone.

"Alright," said Erza after they silently agreed, "Lucy…Lucy has been stalked by Richard for the last couple of days…"

"What!" exclaimed the Fullbuster siblings.

"Ever since the…_incident_, Lucy has been staying at her father's mansion with her brother, but he would always be outside, so she's had to leave in the family car or be dropped off by Laxus-san," continued Levy.

"But _he_ found out about the trick," said Lisanna, "so the only way he would confront her was if she was alone, which is really hard considering we're always in a group."

"In one way or another, that bastard found out about our plans today and has been following us since we met up at my house," said Natsu glaring at the pavement.

"Since we thought you were going to be with her the whole time, we figured it wouldn't be a problem," added Jellal.

"But we didn't expect you to leave her," said Gajeel.

Gray leaned forward and brushed his hair back, what had he done!

"I-I didn't know," he said as he stared up at them.

"Yeah, right," scoffed Gajeel, "and I'm a guy that likes cheesy chick flicks."

"I'm serious!" said Gray forcefully, "I didn't know, she never told me!"

"It's true!" intercepted Wendy, "Gray-nii-chan would have never left Lucy-san alone if he knew she was being followed the whole time!"

The group stayed quiet; in the midst of that silence, Wendy's phone started beeping. She looked down at it and realized it was from her class representative, "I have to go, my break is over," she said, "if you guys find Lucy-san text me, until then I'll ask my friends and see if they saw her."

She kissed her brother's cheek as reassurance, '_She'll be alright,_' was the message she passed on to him.

Gray clutched his hands tightly before standing up, "Wendy is right," he said to himself before speaking louder, "Lucy might still be in the school, let's split up and look for her, we'll meet back here when we're done."

The rest nodded and went their separate ways. They looked for her in every single nick and crook of the place, but she was nowhere to be found. When they met up again, there was nothing but disappointed faces all around them.

"She has to be around here somewhere," Gray reassured them, but he was really reassuring himself more than anything.

"We've looked everywhere," argued Levy, "Lu-chan isn't here..."

"No! She has to be!"

"Gray?" They all turned to the voice, it was Lyon along with Juvia.

"Lyon, Juvia," he had forgotten they were there.

"What's wrong? I mean besides the fact that you punched me," he joked, but the seriousness in all of their faces stopped him dead in his tracks, "what is it?"

"Lucy...is gone," was all he said.

"Lucy?" asked Juvia, "who is this Lucy you are referring to?"

"Lucy is a close friend of ours, she's been missing for a while now," answered Erza.

"Why don't you guys call her? Or did you already do that?" proposed Lyon.

They all looked at him with amazement before face-palming themselves. Why hadn't they done _that_ in the first place?

Gray quickly took out his phone and dialed her number. The group waited patiently as Gray stood still holding his breath. When he heard the click of her answering, he didn't wait for her to greet him.

"Lucy? Where are you? Why didn't you tell me about that imbecile following you? Are you alright?"

_"Well, well, well, if it isn't the bastard who took my dear Lucy-chan away from me."_

"_You!_" He gritted his teeth, "where is Lucy?"

_"Ah-ah-ah. I'm the one making the demands here. I was wondering when you would call her. It seems that your friends don't really care for you, Lucy-chan."_

"Shut up," he said trying to not raise his voice.

_"Very well then. I won't say anything, but I don't think Lucy-chan can either."_

"What have you done to her!"

_"Nothing, nothing. I just made her tired enough to sleep in her own pool of tears."_

"Why you-!"

_"Now listen here, Gay is it?"_

"It's _Gray_."

_"Yeah, okay. I'll give you back Lucy…if you can come up with 2 billion US dollars. It's a simple trade. I'm sure you and Jude-san can come up with that money right? In any case I'll try to contact you once more in half an hour, bye-bye."_

The call ended. His body was numb, what had that bastard done to Lucy?

"Gray-sama, are you alright?" asked Juvia, her voice bringing him back to life.

"No, I'm not..."

The group looked at each other before Jellal spoke for them, "so what happened?"

"He wants a ransom," he answered as he clutched his phone tighter than necessary, cracking the screen in the process, "and he wants to know of it's a deal or not in half an hour."

"How much?" asked Gajeel.

"2 _billion_ US dollars..."

"What!"

"How are you going to get that amount of money?" asked Lyon narrowing his eyes.

Gray smirked a little, "don't worry, I won't be doing that."

Lyon nodded, "but I will need you to boot up your computer for a hacking."

"What!" exclaimed the group.

"Gray you just said-!"

"Not for that reason, stupid," he glared, "Because Lucy is always wanted by people, it's only natural her father probably inserted a GPS on her phone, or something in the like. And since we know she can't access it herself, we're going to do it for her."

"Alright, but if he's going to contact you in less than 20 minutes, we need a plan on how we're going to do this," intervened Jellal.

Gray nodded, "He said to contact Jude-san. I'm guessing that's Lucy's father."

"Right," said Erza, "we'll use my apartment since we can't really go to the mansion. It will attract more attention."

Gray nodded, "Let me call Wendy, I don't need her worrying all night long," just before he could even press the phone icon in his phone, it started ringing. It was Wendy.

"Hello?"

_"Gray-nii-chan! Romeo-kun knows what happened to Lucy! She was taken unconscious by some strange person!"_

"Yes, we know Wendy, we just found out just a couple of minutes ago."

_"Oh," she said sounding disappointed, "well, he managed to get a picture of the person's car, unless you have that too..."_

"No, that's perfect. Think you can send it to me?"

_"Of course!"_

"Also Wendy, I need to drop you off at one of your friend's house. I need to take care of this mess."

_"Ah, alright. I'll have Asuka-chan take me home and see if I can stay with her."_

"Perfect," he was about to hang up before he said, "and Wendy?"

He waited for her answer, "_yes, Gray-nii-chan_?"

"Please don't do anything unnecessary."

"_Okay, I won't_," she replied, "_Take care_."

"You too," he hung up and looked at his cracked phone, if – no, _when_ - this was over he would need to buy a new one.

"So," he looked at the group, "anyone want to lead me to Erza-san's place?"

* * *

An hour earlier...

_"Gray?" She asked him when she saw his change in demeanor._

_"Huh? Yeah, excuse me for a minute, Lucy. I'll be right back," he said as he walked towards the figure without taking his off of it._

'Maybe I teased him a bit too much,' _she thought to herself as she watched his back get lost in the crowd._

_"Hello, Lucy."_

_She heard a voice say from behind her, a voice she knew too familiarly._

_She stiffly turn around, "Richard."_

_"I've been calling you for days, babe. Why haven't you answered?" He asked her as he put his arm around her shoulder._

_She shrugged him off and took a step away from him and turned to face him once more._

_"I believe we both know the reason why," she replied as she glared at him._

_"Lucy, I honestly don't know," he said, feigning innocence._

_"Then allow me refresh your memory. Last week, at the bar, in the parking lot, where you **ate** another woman's face! Richard how could you!" She felt her eyes sting._

_He looked flabbergasted, not expecting that answer. However he wasn't going to let her blame him, he also had something else up his sleeve, "oh yeah? Then what about you, Miss Goody - Goody? If I remember correctly, you left said bar without telling anyone else and met up with another man! If anyone's at fault here it's you! How long have you and that idiot been together behind my back?"_

_"Don't call Gray an idiot! You're the idiot Mr. You're - the - one - and - only!" She turned to walk away._

_"Where do you think you're going?" He asked as he roughly grabbed her arm._

_"Away from you! Now let me go!" She said as she tried to free herself from him._

_"I don't think so," he said lowering his voice, "you and I are going to have a little chat, somewhere...private." He tightened his grip making her wince in pain._

_"L-let go or else I - I'll scream for help!" She said trying to not show any fear._

_"Scream all you want. They won't be able to know the difference from yours an d the ones from over there," he pointed at the Haunted House behind them, "but as a precaution, " he jabbed his fingers behind her collar bone and forced them to the ground, knocking her out in a swift move. In that split second, he witnessed her face's change of horror to serenity as he caught her in his arms and took her back to his car..._

When she woke up, she found herself in an unknown room. There was a lamp, a nightstand and a closet. In other words a basic hotel room, _any_ basic hotel room _anywhere_!

_'Great that helps a lot_,' she thought as she got up from the bed. Her body felt stiff, and she exactly knew why. _'That asshole_,' she thought to herself as she creped around and looked for a way out. There was none except for a door she knew connected to the main apartment in the hotel.

She looked under the bed in the closet to see if her purse was anywhere there, it wasn't.

"Great," she murmured as she bit her lip, she opened one of the drawers from the nightstand, and smiled, "perfect!"

Inside she didn't find her things, but rather a phone, disconnected, but it was there. Just as she was about to take it out she heard the door's lock click. She quickly closet the drawer and jumped back to bed and closed her eyes.

"Aw, look she's still asleep," she heard Richard's voice say.

"Oh please! I bet she's faking," said another feminine voice, the same one she heard at the bar. She felt someone sit next to her and tried her best to not peak and blow her cover; however, she didn't have to wait because only seconds after she felt water being splashed on her.

She sat up quickly and coughed the little bit that had entered her lungs, "W-what's going?" she asked as she pretended to take her surrounds for the first time.

"Oh please, my cat can act better than you," spitted the woman.

"Easy now Arianna," said Richard.

"Where am I?" Lucy asked.

"Don't you worry your pretty little head about that, all you need to know is that you are here with _me._"

"And me."

Lucy had the huge urge to roll her eyes, but she didn't, "What do you want?"

"What I've always wanted from the beginning," he answered, "_money_."

"Then get a job like the rest of us," she said bitterly.

"Funny," said Arianna as she grabbed Lucy's hair from the back and pulled her down.

"Ah!" she screamed in pain.

"If I were you, I'd watch what I'd say."

"I thought you would never hurt a lady," she glared at him.

"Oh I don't," he looked at his accomplice, "but she's another story."

"Yeah," she pulled harder, "and who said you were a lady?" she pulled down again almost ripping her hair off and let her lay down on the bed.

"We'll be back with breakfast, _your highness_," she mockingly bowed, she turned off the light and the two left leaving her in total darkness.

Lucy sighed, '_Okay, so maybe I've had other kidnappers that treated me better than **these** two,_' she looked at the drawer, if she tried anything now, they would certainly find out. She would stay up all night in the dark and pray that they were heavy sleepers. The one mistake they made was leaving her able to move around freely around the room.

* * *

"Heartfilia-san, it's a pleasure you, sir," said Gray as he stood up to greet the older man.

"Mine as well, though I wish we would have met under better circumstances," replied Jude.

Gray nodded and went back to his work on Lyon's computer.

Jude turned to his daughter's friends, "how did he manage to get near her?"

"Fullbuster left her alone-" started Natsu.

"I _didn't_ know," he replied as he gritted his teeth and typed faster and harder.

"Woah, easy now Gray," said Lyon looking over his shoulder, "I don't need you breaking my laptop just like you broke your phone."

"Yeah, yeah," he waved him off, focusing as much as he could on the code he was trying to crack, "Heartfilia-san, is there any chip or program on Lucy's phone that could give us a GPS location?"

"I think so," he pondered, "I do believe Loke suggested one after the last attempt over a couple of years ago."

"Is there any way you know what the program is?"

"I'm afraid not, he said it would look like any other application on her phone, but I didn't really understand since I'm not really technologically savvy."

"That's alright," said Gray as he fetched out his phone and connected his Bluetooth and called Loke, "Hey, Loke, I need you to do me a favor…"

"Has he called yet?" asked Jude after a moment of silence.

The others shook their head, "no," answered Levy, "unless they're expecting us to call _them_ first."

"We're really sorry, Jude-san," said Jellal.

"It's not your fault," he glanced at Gray, "it's no _one's_ fault really. Just another good-for-nothing boy with nothing but greed in his mind."

The group nodded, before Lisanna spoke up, "So how come Gray-san and Lyon-san knows so much about GPS tracking and the sort?"

They all turned to Lyon who scratched his head, "It's a long story," he saw their unsatisfied faces, and sighed, "a long, dark story really. Let's just say there was a time back in high school that it was something we did because we _had_ to, _not_ because we _wanted_ to."

They nodded. They couldn't really understand what would two young teenagers into the life of hacking, computer programming sure, but hacking? That was a different story.

Soon, Jude's phone started ringing and they all looked at him with wide eyes. He looked around the room and caught Lyon motioning him to the laptop he had been working on. He connected the phone to a USB cable and nodded.

He carefully pressed the answer icon and said slowly, "Hello?"

_"Ah! Jude-san, it's nice for you to pick up. I was wondering if you really care that much about your daughter considering I couldn't get a hold of what's-his-face."_

Jude took a deep breath before answering, "I apologize, but Fullbuster-kun has been making preparations for the money you wanted," he lied easily.

_"Ah. So you're letting a total stranger manage your accounts? I'm hurt you just met this person and you're letting him do that, but not me."_

"Enough with the chatter, where is Lucy?"

_"Ouch, no need to be so cold. Don't worry I made sure she's comfortable enough, she'll live."_

"Where do you want to meet for the exchange?"

_"Yanagi Station_. _Just leave the money there and I promise you, you will have your precious little girl back home."_

"How will I know you won't go back on your promise?" he said trying to keep the conversation lasting, just a little bit more...

_"Oh don't worry about that, I don't want your bitch of a daughter any more near me than she already is."_

"Why you-!"

_Toot. Toot_.

The call ended, Jude looked at Lyon with hopeful eyes, but he just shook his head before he slammed his fist down, just a little bit more and they would have-

"I got it," said Gray as he leaned back and moved the screen to face them. A smile plastered in his face, "Look familiar, Heartfilia-san?"

Jude narrowed his eyes before remembering his vision wasn't the best nowadays and put on his glasses. Once he could he clearly, he leaned over and read the name of the hotel Lucy was being held captive, "_Blossoming Inn_."

That bastard had taken her to the one place they would never guess on looking for her, one of his hotels.

* * *

**A little something for you guys to know, the cerebellum is a part of the brain that controls balance for those of you who don't know! Just a little something I thought I should add since I remembered this while helping my friend study for one of her exams.**

**I know it's short, only 3k words ;-; but if I didn't make it short I wouldn't be able to publish the first part at least. And I also decided to make them two separate chapters, simply because it would be too much and I couldn't come up with something, but don't worry. I will post the Reconnect part ASAP!**

**As for Gray's dark past, yeah, I've been watching one too many police mexican soap operas soo xD Sorry about that but I couldn't come up with anything else. Besides! It's not like he can have the best life even after his parent's death, so I'm just putting that there for future reference in future chapters.**

**Don't forget to review~!**

**~Karie**


	5. Chapter 5: Reconnect

_**Reconnect [re-kuh-nekt]**_ – (1) to connect back together (10) to relate to or be in harmony with another person once more.

* * *

_**Chapter 5**_

Lucy waited for what seemed like an eternity for her kidnappers to fall asleep. She had been right in not doing anything right away, because moments after, that _skank_ entered the room while dick head made a call in the other room.

While she waited in the room along with Arianna, she tried to make a conversation to see if there was a way for her to know where she was being held. She had done this technique before on countless men and women, but she didn't budge, she answered her questions…but only as vague as possible, and it was irritating.

When her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she quietly moved to the door while feeling for her surroundings at the same time. She put her ear next to it and waited until she heard nothing but low snores from the other side. By then she tiptoed back to the bed and quietly opened the drawer, however, it _creaked_ as she did so. She paused to see if there were any signs of awakening from them.

There was none.

She took out the phone and put it under her bed in case one of them came in any moment now. She closed the drawer quickly and winced when it creaked again.

She held her breath as she felt her way along the wall next to the drawer. She managed to find Internet plug and plugged in the phone's cable and followed afterwards into plugging in the plug. The phone beeped to life and lit up the room for a brief second. She clutched the phone close to her chest and waited once more. When the coast was clear, she pulled it back and lowered the volume of the handset. She quickly dialed the number she had memorized over the past week and pressed call.

She begged with all her might, _'Please, please, __**please**__ answer._'

When he did, she heard him say in a groggy voice, "_hello_?"

She breathed a sigh of relief, "G-Gray? It's me, Lucy..."

_"Lucy? Lucy! Are you alright? Did they hurt you?"_

"Just a bit of hair pulling, but other than that I'm fine."

The other line stayed quiet, "_why didn't you tell me?"_

She flinched she could hear the sharpness of his normally playful voice, "I-I..." She didn't have an excuse, "I didn't think it would matter...it happens all the time-"

_"Yes, but I could have prevented it!"_

She felt her eyes sting, "I-I'm sorry," a couple of tears escaped.

She heard him sigh on, "_no. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have scolded you so harshly - specially in the situation you're in right now..."_

The two stayed quiet until she broke the silence, "Gray...I'm scared," her voice broke.

"_I know_," he said, she closed her eyes. Somehow she imagined him there - with her, rubbing her arms in reassurance, but when she opened her eyes, there was no one.

"_Lucy, listen to me_," he said, "_tomorrow or rather later today in the morning we are coming in to get you."_

"W-what? How? I don't even know where I am!"

"_Shh, relax_," she eased her tense shoulders, "_you don't but I do_."

"How-"

"_Don't worry about that now_," he interrupted, "_I just need you to trust me and stay low, if anything happens, just stay calm and-"_

"See I told you she would try something," she heard Arianna's voice behind her.

_"Lucy?"_

She turned around and saw her standing over her. Her rusty hair color was darkened by the absence of light in the room.

"Say night-night, Lucy-chan," she said with a sickening smile.

_"Lu-!" _

The call ended.

* * *

"Lucy!"

Gray looked his phone; the call ended not even 6 minutes had passed while they were talking.

He stood up from his stupor as he heard Lyon groan next to him, "Gray what on heaven's earth and all that is holy are you screaming about?"

He looked at his left, right. He had forgotten he had stayed at Erza's place until further notice. Jude Heartfilia had left soon after the call between him and Richard ended. He said something about contacting Sagittarius and left as quickly as he came.

"Sorry," he said as he stood up quickly and tried not to step on anyone before he reached the wall and turned on the light.

"Agh!"

"What the _hell_!"

"It's so blinding!"

"God _damn it_, Gray!"

He had to admit, the light blinded his eyes far worse than he expected. He had to close his eyes for a good minute and blink several time for them to adjust.

"What's the matter with _you_! Are you trying to make us all _blind_ or something?"

"No time for jokes," he said as he crossed the living room and turned on the laptop he had been using.

"What's going on?" asked Erza wearing a bathrobe as she and the other girls came out from her room.

"I don't know! _Fullbuster_ just tried to kill our eyes!" explained Natsu.

"Lucy got caught when she called me," answered Gray as he impatiently waited for it to boot up.

"She _called_?"

"How?"

"Why _you_?"

He answered their questions, "yes, through the landline in the room I'm guessing, and _I don't know_! Ask her!"

"Did you tell her about the chip in her mother's necklace?" asked Lisanna.

"No, I wasn't able to," he said as he drummed his fingers on the table impatiently, "but I have a feeling they were listening on our conversation, so in a way that's good."

"He's right, beside Lucy's smart," said Jellal, "I'm sure she'll figure it out eventually."

"Yeah, but now we have a problem. They know that we know where they are."

"We can't risk that," said Gajeel as he stood up, "we have to go get her, _now_!"

The boys nodded at one another in understanding. Gray noted down the exact hotel she was at and grabbed his keys, "okay, let's do this."

They grabbed their things and walked to the door, leaving the girls behind as they slowly processed what they decided.

* * *

When she came to, she found herself bound by something tightly. She couldn't even move her hands without hurting herself. She looked around her and noticed a stinging in her cheek.

_'Right_,' she thought bitterly, _'it's when that bitch slapped me with her ring.'_

She tried to sit up but her legs hurt from what she remembered was due to Arianna's constant kicking with her high heels and her feet were tied together, so even if she stood up, she wouldn't be able to go anywhere.

_'Damn, looks like they learned.'_

It was then that she realized that she wasn't in the hotel room anymore. She was in a basement of sorts, or maybe it was a warehouse. Either way she couldn't tell, it was too dark. All she knew was that her entire body was bind in what she guessed now was a rope of sorts. Her arms were tied close to her chest, although her legs weren't tied, it still hurt to even move.

She whined in pain, but it was muffled by the cloth that was tied around her mouth. Her only thoughts as she settled once more in the darkness were, _'save me, Gray_...'

* * *

They weren't there. The idiots that took Lucy or Lucy herself! They were gone.

He wondered if they had managed to leave the hotel as they asked the receptionists about them. Even with the picture, the woman was reluctant to give them any information. It took a couple of minutes and a call from Jude Heartfilia for her to get the Front Desk Manager to lead them to the room.

They opened every single door there was and turned the bed inside out. Nothing. There was no sign of Lucy anywhere. It was only then that he looked under one of the couches that found her phone.

_'So they knew_,' he thought as he held it delicately in his big hands.

"There's _nothing_, no sign of them anywhere," report Jellal, "it's as if they were never even here in the first place."

"I wouldn't say that," said Gray as he showed them Lucy's phone, "they knew it had a GPS signal, why else would they leave behind the only way of contacting us?"

"Damn, how did he know?" asked Natsu.

"My guess is Lucy told him," said Jellal.

"Why on _earth_ would she tell him?" asked Gajeel.

"Because she trusted him," said Gray as he tried his hardest not to grip the phone in his hands tightly.

"Hey, guys?" said Lyon from the other room.

"Yeah, what is it?"

"I think I found something you might to see," he replied.

They entered the connecting bedroom and leaned over Lyon, who was crouching down next to the bed. Their hearts stopped for a brief moment, it was a small pool of blood.

"By looks of it," he said touching it and raising it to the light, "it's recent. It's still warm, so it's safe to say they were here, and by the size of it, I can tell you it was probably a minor injury, a shallow cut if anything."

"How can you tell?" asked Natsu who looked ready to puke, despite everything, he felt queasy around blood, even more if he knew it was from one of his friends.

"Lyon here is a police officer who is trying to become a CSI," said Gray before Lyon could answer.

"How do you know that?" he asked.

"You always kept going on and on about your forensic classes, so I just assumed," he said as he walked out of the room. For whatever reason, he felt like he was suffocating inside there.

He took out his phone and dialed Jude's number, "Heartfilia-san I'm afraid we got here a bit too late."

_"What happened? Is Lucy alright?"_

"I...I don't know if she is, but I promise you I will get her back, as for what happened, I wouldn't even be able to tell you because I myself don't know."

"_I'm trusting you, Fullbuster-kun, please don't let me down_._"_

"I won't," he replied and ended the call.

At that very moment, Gray felt his body freeze – not literally though. He felt as if he touched anything he would be able to freeze it with his own hands. This feeling wasn't something new to him, he felt it back when his parents passed away. And that to him meant he wasn't going to down so easily, he wanted _revenge_…

* * *

They waited hours, and soon that turned to days. The ransom money had been left at the station, but no one had gone to pick it up. It got to the point where they were just trying everything they could. Gray became more aggravated during his work hours that he asked for an early vacation in general. He wouldn't rest until he found Lucy, he promised her he would get her, and he wasn't about to go back on his word.

Wendy came back home eventually, if she stayed any longer people would start to question, and she didn't want that. Although Gray _basically_ lived at the Heartfilia Mansion, he would always be there for her during the early mornings and late nights, something she appreciated.

The search got bigger, and as much as Laxus wanted to get the cops involved (aside from Lyon that is) they couldn't. If they did, it would mean risking Lucy's life even further. His mood became worse as time passed; it got to the point that even his fiancée, Luna, couldn't do much about it anymore. She would let him rant and pour his anger out by punching and kicking the boxing bag, but even those had a limited to what his punches could do.

He wasn't the only one who was having trouble staying in line. Luna herself had to get out the house for various hours to be outside and away from the closure that the mansion had become. With each passing day, Gray noticed her eyes lose their ocean green touch and turn more into the icy blue he had heard Lucy mention during one of their late night conversations.

_'Lucy...'_

That was the only thought that revolved around his head - he couldn't help it. He had been the last one to see her, to be with her. If only he hadn't-

He felt a hand on his should and jumped, ready to pin whoever it was to the ground.

"Relax, Fullbuster-kun," it was Luna.

"Sorry, I've just been stressed."

"I know," she said, "we all are."

She looked at the computer he had been using for the past couple of days, the screen itself was bigger than any normal one and for whatever reason, there were two keyboards, she shook her head, "come on."

"Where?" he asked not moving from his spot.

"Anywhere. Anywhere that isn't here, in this house."

"Thanks, but I'm fine," he replied as he turned back to his seat.

Luna narrowed her eyes and put her hand on his shoulder again and squeezed it tightly, "I wasn't asking you. Now _get up_," she ordered him.

Gray turned to her ready to argue about this disposition, but one look into those ice eyes made him think otherwise. He swallowed hard and stood up, making her hand drop in the process, and followed her.

"Why are you doing this? We should be trying to figure out where Lucy is!" he said when they were a good distance away from the building and near the gardens.

"I know," she answered as she spread her arms apart as if to embrace the air around her, "but everyone needs a break everyone once in a while." She turned to him, "And I'm sure Lucy would rather have you stay calm rather than pulling your hair out and going bald," she smirked.

He cracked a tiny smile, "I guess you're right."

"I always am," she said and walked further in front of him.

He watched her from behind. Somehow, he felt as if this person wasn't from here, from _Earth_. He wasn't saying that she was from another planet, but...there was just something about her that made him want to protect her. Maybe not the same way he did to Lucy, but in a similar manner.

"What is it?" she asked, a small smile forming.

"Huh?"

He realized he had stopped walking and had stood there staring at her.

She smirked, "sorry, Fullbuster-kun, but I'm taken," she said as pulled up her left hand and let the sunlight hit her engagement ring.

He laughed, something he hadn't been able to do for a while now, "that's too bad."

She smiled and sat down in one of the many benches provided by the mansion's garden. She patted the spot next to her, "sit."

He did as he was told and sat down next to her. For a while, they didn't say anything, they just sat there and enjoyed the fresh air that was mixed with the scent of the many flowers surrounding them.

As Gray started to close his eyes, he heard Luna speak, "you know, you're handling your first Lucy-kidnapping better than Laxus did."

"Laxus?"

"Yeah. You know, the big brute with huge muscles?"

"Ah! I thought I saw him a couple of times now. So what happened?"

"Well, the first serious Lucy-kidnapping happened when he was 16. He was into this whole _I-don't-need-anybody_ rebellious stage. So, when he found out it happened he snapped. Not only did he get into more street fights, _but_ when he found out where she was being held, he lost it, _completely_. He went there and literally beat the shit out of every single one of those guys - well him and his friends, the Raijinshu."

"The Raijinshu?"

"Uh-huh. It was the name they called themselves."

They stayed quiet for another moment, "you know, to Laxus, Lucy is the closest thing he'll ever get as a sister..."

"I thought they were brother and sister..."

"No," she shook her head, "Laxus was adopted into the family. He and I grew up in the same orphanage after his dad left him when he was 5."

"I'm sorry, I didn't know..."

"It's alright, we all have our dark secrets, even you. Am I right?" she turned to face him, her eyes weren't that icy blue color anymore, they were almost back to their natural ocean green.

He understood the reason behind the story, "when Ur and my dad...passed on, I didn't know how to handle it. Ur was a calculus teacher, and Lyon and I were her students."

He smiled a little, "even though I was her son, she still wouldn't give me any type of special treatment. Lyon was special to her; he was the son one of her childhood friend. He was basically like my brother for some time. When the plane crash happened, Lyon and I started hanging out with the wrong crowd. We learned about the dirty work that goes around big companies and so on. If it wasn't for my sisters Ultear and Wendy, I don't know if I would even be here at all..."

His hands shook, Luna noticed this and stood up, "she'll be alright."

"How do you know?" he asked in a broken voice.

"I just do," she said and turned to him. He now realized what Lucy meant when she said that she was like an angel. It wasn't how she looked or how she was in general. There was just something about her that made you feel comfortable, safe and at peace.

He saw her stand before him and all of a sudden, she hugged him. He just sat there unable to process what was happening, "we'll get her back, I promise."

He slowly wrapped his arms around her and tried to hold back the tears that threatened to escape.

"Thank you, Vermillion-san," he said when she pulled back.

"Luna is just fine," she said, "and for as long as you need it, I'll be your emotional support, just like you were to Lucy."

He smiled a little.

"Then call me, Gray, please."

"Okay," she answered and they went back to their silence as she turned to watch the leaves dance along the wind.

"But," she said, "I'm sure right now there is someone else who wishes to be your support as well."

He looked at her strangely before his eyes widened in realization.

"I have to go home," he said standing up.

"I know."

"I need to tell-"

"Don't worry, I'm sure they'll understand. So just go."

"Thanks," he said and made a dash to his car.

* * *

When he got home he didn't bother parking right, heck, he didn't care if he had a problem backing up the next day.

"Wendy!" he yelled as he entered through the door. After making sure that he had closed the door properly, he walked to their living room and saw her sitting on the couch with a cup of tea.

"Gray-nii-chan!" she exclaimed surprised to see him at home so early, "what are you doing here?" she asked as she stood up from her seat.

He crossed the room faster than she'd ever seen him cross, before she knew it she was enveloped in his strong arms, "...Gray-nii-chan?"

"I'm so sorry, Wendy."

Her eyes widened, she knew what he was referring to and hugged him back with all her might, "it's alright. You're just worried."

He pulled back to look at her, "but that doesn't mean it's _okay_ for me to ditch you and leave you all alone."

She smiled a little, "yes, but I knew you'd come eventually," she replied and hugged him once more.

When the two separated, they heard someone clearing their throat. Gray turned and his reaction went from joy to dread.

"What? No hug for your onee-chan?" said Ultear feign hurt.

"I-I wasn't expecting you back so soon..."

"Gray, it was a blizzard, not a tsunami," she replied rolling her eyes, "guess you were too busy searching for this Lucy chick."

He blushed a dark red, "s-shut up..."

"Oh come here you!" she said as she crossed the room and pulled him in for a bear hug.

Once they let go, he asked, "How do you know about Lucy anyway?"

"Just because you don't email me, doesn't mean _Wendy_ doesn't either," she answered giving him the stare.

"S-sorry."

"It's alright," she said as she went back to the kitchen and brought back two cups of tea. She handed one to Gray and directed him to sit in the sofa chair they had while she and Wendy sat on the couch.

"Now, tell me what's happened while I was gone."

"Well," he said as he started to tell her his story with Lucy, "It all began when Wendy asked me to buy her some ice cream…"

* * *

Lucy awoke to the icy cold water splashed in her face. For the past couple of days this was her routine:

First, she woke up to cold water and wet clothes.

Second, she was given bread or a sandwich as her meal of the hour.

Third, she was forced to drink water so she wouldn't dehydrate too much before being gagged by the cloth again.

Fourth was sometimes her bathroom break and other times it was Arianna's '_special_' treatment and Richard's words of abandonment.

And fifth was always her knocking out.

However, today was different, she didn't want to knock out this time, but she also didn't want to be alone in the dark. She was starting to lose hope, what if they never found out where she was, then what?

She shook her head, no, she wasn't going to let them get to her. She sighed through her nose, but what else was she supposed to do? She brought her hands to her chest and grabbed her mother's necklace.

_'What do I do, mom?_' she asked as she clutched it tightly and closed her eyes, it was then that she heard a click.

She opened her eyes and look at the direction of the only entrance/exit of her unknown location/room. When she saw no one enter, she looked at around her, but there was nothing and no one. She looked at the item in her hands and saw a small light blink continuously.

She suddenly heard the door open and quickly hid it inside her dress and prayed that whoever it was hadn't seen the light.

* * *

Luna was cleaning up the mess Gray left behind in the Heartfilia private office - not Jude's, but another office. She picked up and stacked papers that had various locations and numbers on them, she sighed heavily,

_'You sure have this one wrapped around your finger, Lu-chan,'_ she thought.

She grimly remembered his expression from when she had met him; it was one of a crazed man that would stop at nothing until he had gotten what he wanted. She accidentally dropped a paper on the floor and when she bend down to pick it up she realized it was a rough sketch of Lucy's smiling face on the day she had disappeared.

_'He really cares about you,'_ she thought as she put in on top of the stack in her hands, when she straightened up she noticed a blinking light in the map that was projected on the computer screen. On it, it read, _'Lucy Heartfilia. GPS Transmitter: On. Location: In-Progress…'_

She dropped the papers that were in her hand and rushed out of the room screaming, "Laxus! Jude-san!"

* * *

"And that's the story, basically."

"What a _dick head_," said Ultear.

"Ultear-onee-chan!"

"I'm sorry, Wendy, but there really is no other way of saying it. What he did to her is something I _can't_ forgive - and she shouldn't either!"

"I don't think she _will_," he said as he drank the rest of his tea. Just as they were about to open up the discussion of Gray's absence in the household, Wendy's phone rang.

She looked at it and answered the call cautiously, "hello?"

Her eyes widened with every word the person on the phone said, she nodded her head enthusiastically but then she realized they couldn't answer, "y-yes! Right away, Luna-san!"

She pushed the phone towards Gray, "it's for you."

"Me?"

"Yes you! Now take it!" she said as she basically threw her phone at him.

"Wendy!" exclaimed Ultear at her sister's directness.

"What!"

She turned to her brother.

"O-okay! Don't worry I'm basically out the door, thanks!"

He was about to end the call but was stopped by a yell that they could all here.

_"Gray!"_

"Yes?"

He chuckled, "don't worry, I'll make sure to get there in one piece."

He hung up and threw the phone back at Wendy and grabbed is keys, "Hey! Where are you going!" asked Ultear as she stood up.

"They found Lucy!"

He said and left through the door he had entered moments earlier, leaving his two sisters with amused smiles plastered in their faces.

"So tell me Wendy, how long again did you say this has been going on for?"

* * *

When Gray entered the Heartfilia Household he ran passed the line of maids and went straight to the office he had been at. In there, he found Lucy's friends, Luna, Laxus, Jude, and whom she assumed where the people who worked for Jude.

"You _finally_ made it," whined Natsu, though the smirk on his said otherwise.

"Hey, I tried to get here in one piece alright?"

"Yeah, yeah."

"Alright, enough boys," said Luna as she looked away from the computer screen in front of her. When they all turned to her she continued, "I was able to pinpoint Lucy's location to the T. I may not be as good at this as Gray, but I managed to get around," she took out a map from under desk,

"Now this is what we're going to do, Sagittarius and I will stay outside in case they decide to order for backup – I know it's just _him_ and an unknown woman, but we can't take the risk of them being armed. For that reason, Evergreen, Bixlow, and Freed will scout the area and take out anyone they deem suspicious. Only, _**don't**_ kill them, just knock them out."

"Aw, you're no fun, Luna-chan."

"_Shh!_"

"Gray," she turned to him, "You, Natsu and the others will go in _after_ they give the okay, and if you don't – I _swear_ I will make sure you won't be able to take a step, you hear me?"

"Y-yes," they replied, something about the way she said made Gray think that Luna herself had something darker than anyone else did.

"What do I do?" asked Laxus.

"Nothing."

"What!"

"Laxus, you and I both know that you're not the best when it comes to stakeouts-"

"That doesn't mean I'm going to let you go in there on your own, _especially_ after what happened last time!"

Luna sighed, "_Fine_ – but you're going to watch my back."

"Sounds perfect to me," he said with a smirk on his face that made Luna roll her eyes at him.

"Moving _on_," she said as she went back to the area map, "When you get Lucy out of harm's way, Taurus and Loke will be waiting for you here," she pointed to certain part in the map, "they will take Lucy and get away from the place. You guys are going to go here after doing so," she pointed to the opposite side, "where Scorpio and Aquarius will be waiting for you.

"This is to confuse them if they catch up to you on the outside, since the car will be hidden, they won't know which to follow. If they do chase you, Scorpio will know what to do so they don't get away.

"Vastia-kun I'll need you to have a patrol car ready around here, here, and here," she said as she pointed to certain exit points, "we can't let any of these people escape. Even if we don't really want to get the police involved, I'm afraid it'll be big news if someone passes by and sees so many unconscious bodies, Jude-san.

"Any questions?"

"Yeah, how on Earth did you come up with such a plan on such a short time?" asked Gajeel.

"Simple," she said with a sweet smile, "when you're with Laxus as long as I have, this is like a second nature. You have no idea how many times _he_ got _me_ involved."

"I thought we weren't going to mention those times _ever_ _again_, Luna," he said as he blushed.

She giggled, "Sorry, I don't remember promising you that."

"So when are we taking this plan into action?" asked Erza.

Luna gave her a confident smile, "_Tonight._"

* * *

Lucy had managed to stay awake the whole day, she didn't know why, but she did. After finding out her mother's necklace could be activated by a GPS, she felt herself flowing with hope, even though she had a hard time keeping that hidden. She avoided looking at her capturers because she knew her eyes would give her away – her voice she could mask, but her eyes were a different story.

"What's wrong, Lucy-chan? You gave up all hope?"

"…" she didn't say anything even as he took off the cloth in the mouth.

"See, I told you your friends didn't really care about you," he continued.

"…"

"Even that Gay guy, I can't believe you stooped so low after me."

"He's name is _Gray,_" she said through gritted teeth.

"Yeah well-"

"Richard!" one of the guys he hired said barging in.

"What! Can't you see I'm busy?"

"We're under attack!"

"_What!_"

"None of my guys are responding back! There's something out there!"

"Oh _please!_ Maybe they're just lazing around-"

"I don't think so," said Arianna walking in, "I went to check on their posts and there isn't any sign of them, the most I found was this," she showed him a strand of scarlet hair.

Lucy's eyes widened, '_Erza!_'

"Are you sure it's not yours," joked Richard.

"I'm serious! Besides, this is obviously not my hair color!"

"Go find out what's happening," barked Richard to the goon.

"R-right, sir," but the goon never made it out of the door. Just as he was about to open it, the door came crashing down on him - _literally_, "Yo, Lucy! How long do you plan on staying a damsel in distress?"

She smirked, it was so _Gajeel_ of him to say something like that, "I'm not pretending this time, in case you haven't noticed I can't exactly move."

"Who are you!"

"You're worst _nightmare,_" said Jellal as he stepped forward and cracked his knuckles.

"Heh, if you think you two are going to do much, think again, we're not alone," with a snap of his fingers a huge gang of people sprang from the shadows and into the light.

"Who said they were alone?" said Gray as came behind Gajeel's big frame along with Erza and Natsu.

"Hey, _Richard_," said Erza.

"Remember us?" grinned Natsu.

Lucy saw Richard's face turn pale, he turned to the gang of people, "w-well don't just stand there! Do something!"

"Ah!" they screamed and rushed forward to attack the small group before them.

But what they didn't know was that Lucy's friends weren't ordinary people. After all during high school they weren't named Fiore's strongest multi-martial arts/sports club, _**Fairy Tail**_, for nothing.

While Erza rushed forward with a kendo sword and basically aimed for Arianna's rusted head, the others managed on their own just fine. It was only a matter of time before said gang was nothing more than just a couple of people rushing outside, were they were greeted by Luna's and Sagittarius's careful aim at their feet to shock them and allow the Raijinshu to do the rest.

"You've got nowhere to run," said Gray as he approached Richard who was still standing next to Lucy, somewhere in the turmoil, he had lost his shirt as he avoided a couple of people here and there.

Gray smirked at him evilly, "not much of a man, are you?"

Richard gulped.

At that moment, Gray took his eyes off him and let them wonder to were Lucy was. What he saw made him snap, her whole body was covered in bruises and her cheek had a long gash across it. In that small second he saw of all this, he only saw blue. Blue because it was the color she was adorned with; blue because he had a feeling his anger wasn't red, it was blue; and blue because it was the color he was going to make Richard turn to in a matter of seconds.

And when said person saw this in Gray's eyes, he ran. Ran like there was no tomorrow. Gray didn't let him get away and went after him, even though he knew Luna was covering the outside.

Lucy had stayed frozen in place. She had never seen that expression in him before…and it scared her. It wasn't until she felt the ropes her hands were unfastened that she realized she hadn't moved in any way or form.

"Lucy? Are you alright?" asked Jellal as he untied the ones on her feet.

"Y-yeah," she said, but she still didn't move from where she was. She turned towards the direction the two had disappeared to and what she saw terrified her even more. She couldn't see it very clearly, but from the way his shoulder's shook and the unresponsive responses that followed, she could only guess what happened…or what yet to happen.

Despite the pain in her legs, she willed herself to stand up. She wobbled for a moment, but was supported by Gajeel's strong arms. She pushed herself away from them and pressured herself to move forward towards the person she had longed to be held by. She stumbled here and there, but she would always keep her eyes on her goal. When she reached him, she didn't have any more strength and threw herself to his back. The action froze his movement.

"Stop," she said, her voice sounding stronger than what she was feeling, "please." She hugged him tightly from behind, "please, Gray, I don't want you to become like them..."

That one sentence brought him back to his senses. What had he done?

He looked at the person in his hands, he wasn't dead - thank god, but he had only lost conscious some time ago. He dropped him as if he had been burned by him and slowly turned his body to face Lucy. He saw her, tear streaked and clutching him, as if her very life depended on it.

His eyes showed his fear. Had he pushed her away? He slowly turned to fully face her, but even as he did that, she didn't let go.

He carefully wrapped his arms around her, just as how he done back when they first met, and brought her closer to him, as if she would disappear from his sight any moment now.

"Lucy," he murmured as he buried his face in her hair.

It was all it took to make her legs give out. Just as she fell down, he supported her and went down with her, until he was on his knees, holding her still.

"I'm so sorry, Lucy..."

She said nothing and only hugged him tighter, her voice, momentarily gone.

"I promise you, I will _never_ let you experience that _ever_ again," his voice shook and she nodded, because she knew he wouldn't break his promise.

"I know," she said as he buried herself in him, "you promised to get me and you did. That's why, I will _always_ trust you."

The bottomless, empty shell that he had been, began to be filled once more. Her voice helped bring back the sounds around him and her warmth allowed him to _feel_ once again. He held tighter, as if _his_ life depended on it, and silently let a couple of tears spring from their confinement as he relinquished in the feeling that was just Lucy.

* * *

**I am _way_ behind on GrayLu week. I am so sorry, but they decided to take out my Internet for whatever reason, and I just got it today!**

**I am so sorry ;-;**

**Please review, thank you,**

**~Karie**


	6. Chapter 6: Fairy Dust

_**Fairy Dust [fair-ee duhst]**_ – a magical dust related to fairies that could grant wishes, dreams, etc.

* * *

_**Chapter 6**_

Wendy's eyes widened at the sight of the building, "_This_ is where Lucy lives?"

"Yep," said Gray as he parked in front of the entrance.

"Somehow I feel as if my gift will be worth nothing next to everything," she said as she looked down at the box in her hands.

"Hey," he said as he ruffled her hair, "I'm sure she'll be touched none the less. Remember it's the _thought_ that counts, _not_ the price."

"Still…"

"Come on," he replied with a smile as he got out of his car.

It had been days since Lucy's kidnapping. Instead of going to the hospital like any other person, they had brought her home because – of course – they had their own doctor.

What ever happened Richard and his accomplice, he didn't know. He just knew that Luna and the Raijinshu (who he found out were the 3 people he met on the day of the plan), had taken care of it. He was rather curious as to what happened to them; did they go to jail like Luna had planned? Or did something worse happen? In all honesty, he didn't care as long as they _never_ got near Lucy every again.

Lucy.

He froze in mid-step, today was going to be the first day he saw her since that night. He knew she had seen him at his worse, and that scared him more than it scared her. What if she never wanted to see him again? What if she loathed what he was?

His hands shook.

No, Lucy wasn't like that, she would try to understand, right?

"Gray-nii-chan?"

He looked up at Wendy; she was already at the door, waiting for him. He shook his head, "I'm fine."

He finished climbing up the small steps and rang the doorbell. Not even a moment after Capricorn opened the door and welcomed them in.

The two entered and were greeted by two rows of maids. The two were greatly shocked. Sure, Gray had been here for the a good week or so, but he had been so focused on finding Lucy that he never really paid that much attention to the detail in the place.

"Wow," said Wendy as Capricorn led them to Lucy's room, "this feels as if we're inside Cinderella's Castle."

"Yeah," he said in awe as he looked at the high chandelier hanging in place.

"It's a shame Ultear-nee-chan had work," she said as she looked at the portraits of the past Heartfilia members.

"Yeah," he replied, almost walking into the Head Butler when he stopped.

He knocked the door, "Come in."

Capricorn took a step inside, "Lucy-sama, Fullbuster-sama and his sister are here."

"Ah! Perfect! Let them in!"

He opened the door wider for them and closed it behind them. They found Lucy in a large bed surrounded by her friends. A pang of guilt crossed Gray's heart when he saw her. She was covered in bandages, and her beautiful face had a bandage across her cheek.

"Well, don't just stand there you two, come in, come in," she said motioning them closer.

The two approached the bed cautiously. When they reached their destination, he asked, "H-how are you feeling?"

"I'm fine, thanks," she replied with her usual radiant smile.

A silence enveloped the room.

"A-ano!" exclaimed Wendy trying to break the silence, "w-we brought you a get well present, I hope you like it."

She pushed the white box wrapped with a red ribbon to the older blonde. The box felt heavier than she thought, and Lucy had the urge to shake it, but she didn't. She slowly untied the beautiful bow adorning it and opened the top. She gasp at was inside, the others peeked in to see what had caught her breath. Inside was a beautiful strawberry cake.

"Wendy," she said when she closed her mouth, "this is so beautiful – and it will probably taste just as great!"

"Thank you, Lucy," she bowed, "but I can't take all the credit. Gray-nii-chan helped me."

"Wendy," he hissed as he turned a bright red.

"You did?" asked Natsu, holding back his laughter.

"Yeah, so?" he pouted and looked somewhere else.

The group laughed good naturally.

"Well, let's not let this good cake go to waste," said Lucy, "Virgo!"

"Yes, Hime-sama?"

"Would you mind brining plates and silverware for us to have this?"

"I already have them, Hime-sama."

The pink maid opened the door wider and pushed in a cart filled with plates and silverware, as well as some cups and drinks. Lucy passed the box to Virgo and the group waited until she had cut the cake into several equal-sized pieces and handed to them. They waited until Lucy tried it first, since it was _her_ cake technically speaking. They watched as she took a small bite and chewed it carefully. The look in her face said it all, it was delicious, and to Gray and Wendy, it was a success.

The others followed Lucy's example and proceeded to take a bite. Out of everyone in the group, Erza's face had the most satisfaction.

"This is incredible," she meowed as she savored her first bite.

"Coming from Erza," said Lucy, "it's a hit."

The two laughed in relief and joined in the lively chatter that surrounded Lucy. At one point Lucy asked, "How come you never told me you could bake?"

Gray raised an eyebrow, "Who? Me?"

"Yes, _you_," she teased.

"If you must know, I didn't know you cared," he tapped her nose.

She pouted, "_Still_, it's an interesting factoid."

"Why do you care so much, Miss Lucy Heartfilia," he replied in a teasing manner.

"I don't know," she shrugged her shoulders, "I just find anything you do interesting."

He blushed, which made her blush because that was the moment she realized what she had said – and she couldn't take it back.

The two looked away from each other, but Gray had a hard time keeping the smile in his face from growing. The air around them turned light and fluffy, but became awkward for the rest of them.

Jellal cleared his throat lightly.

"Well, we have to go," he said motioning to Erza and himself.

"Aw, why?" whined Lucy.

"We have work in a couple of hours, so we just wanted to stop by and make sure you were alright."

"Ah, okay," she replied a bit disheartened.

"Hey, we'll visit you tomorrow," said Erza as she patted the blonde's leg lightly.

"Ouch."

"Sorry," she said as she moved in to hug her.

"Bye, Lucy," said Jellal as he hugged her after.

"Bye, guys. Have a nice day at work today."

The two nodded and waved to the others and left the room.

"Oh that's right! I completely forgot about it," said Levy as she rummaged her bag.

"What is it, Levy-chan?"

"This!" she said as she showed her a book she managed to find.

"Is that-!"

"It is!" she said with glee, "It's Nicholas Sparks' '_The Choice_'! I know you've been dying to read it for a while."

"Thanks, Levy-chan," she said as she hugged her best friend.

"You're welcome, Lu-chan!" replied the bluenette as she returned the hug. "It was the main reason I had actually stopped here, but I'm afraid I have to head back home soon."

"Let me guess, work?"

"No, I forgot I had a book report due tomorrow, and I haven't really started," she replied scratching the back of her head.

"Levy-chan!"

"I know, I know! But I haven't found the time to visit you, and today was the only day so…"

"It's alright, you should go home and do that book report."

"Okay, bye Lu-chan."

"Bye, Blondie," said Gajeel as he leaned over for a hug.

"Bye, Brains, bye, Brawns," she replied with a giggle.

And so only Natsu, Lisanna, Wendy and Gray stayed behind for a while longer until Natsu got a call on his phone.

"Hello?"

"_Natsu! Where the hell are you!_"

"I-I'm at Lucy's place-"

"_Do you have any idea what time it is! You were supposed to bring Lisanna over __**2**_ _hours ago!_"

"S-sorry, Elfman. I guess I forgot about the time."

"_Yeah, yeah. Now get your ass over here and bring me back my sister!_"

"Y-yes, sir!" he replied as he stood up and saluted to no one in particular in the room.

"Who was that?" asked Wendy.

"That would be Elf-nii-chan," replied Lisanna as she stood up, "I'm afraid my time is up, Lucy."

"Hey, it's okay. I at least got to see you guys longer this time, thanks."

"Bye, Lucy," said Natsu as he gave her big bear hug.

"Bye-bye," she said as she waved them off. Now it was only the 3 of them. For a while, they didn't say anything, and that was fine – that is, until the air around them started getting awkward.

Gray didn't know what to say. Should he bring up what happened? Was she concerned about who he really was? Would she break up the small budding friendship that was forming between? All these thought revolved around his head until a knock on the door brought him back to Earth.

"Come in," Lucy answered.

"Lucy-sama, Jude-sama wishes to speak to Gray Fullbuster-sama."

"Oh, I see," she said directing her attention to Gray.

"Excuse me for a moment," he said standing up from his seat and leaving the room.

That left Wendy and Lucy in the room alone. Lucy wanted to say something, _anything_! But nothing came to mind, she noticed that Wendy seemed a bit down casted and she wondered why.

"Wendy?" she asked.

"Y-yes?" she replied having been lost in thought.

"Is everything alright?"

"Y-yes, why do you say that?"

"You seem a bit down, are you sure you're alright?"

Wendy looked at her with big doe eyes.

"You can tell me anything," Lucy said as she patted the young girl's hand, "what is it?"

Wendy took a deep breath and let out a shaky one. "I," she started, "I don't want to really become a pastry chef."

Lucy blinked back, "What?"

Had she missed something? Last time she talked to Gray on the phone, he told her that Wendy told him that she was sure she wanted to pursue that type of career.

"I mean, I like baking and making cute desserts, but I don't love it enough to make it a career," she continued.

Lucy didn't know how to approach this, "So, what do you want to be?"

"I-I want to be a doctor! I want to help people feel better and to save lives!" she replied with a big smile, which in turn made Lucy smile.

"Then why don't you become one?"

"Because…because Gray-nii-chan would be so disappointed," she said in a small voice as she lost her confidence from before.

"What do you mean, Wendy?"

"You know that ever since mama and papa moved on Gray-nii-chan and Ultear-nee-chan have taken care of me, right?"

"Yes, Gray told me."

"Well, you see Gray-nii-chan always wanted to be a pastry chef, and even though it sounds like a girly dream. It was – _is_ – something he has always wanted to do. He loves making desserts, and I don't know if it's because he just does or because mama used to make them for us, but he's always smiling when he does them.

"However, he never became one because mama and papa moved on. He always said it was because it wasn't a very profitable career, but I don't believe him. And I'm scared to tell him I don't want to be one, because when I told him he was so happy and-!"

"Wendy," she said lightly cutting her off, "I'm sure Gray will understand. I mean this is Gray we're talking about. I'm more than positive that he would rather you do something you love than something that you aren't so sure about. Don't you think?"

"Yeah, but-!"

"But?"

"I-I don't know…"

Lucy sighed lightly and patted the spot next to her on the bed, "Wendy, come here."

"Why?"

"Just do it," she said smiling.

Wendy nodded and did as she was told. She sat down next to Lucy and looked at her. The blonde smiled and pulled her in for a semi-hug.

"Now, why haven't you told Gray you don't want to be a pastry chef?"

Wendy stayed quiet for a minute, "because it's expensive."

"What's expensive?" she asked as she ran her fingers through her blue hair.

"Medical school, if I told him I wanted to be a doctor then he and Ultear-nee-chan would have to indebt just to send me there!"

"Then why not apply to some scholarships?"

"I've already applied to so many of them, but I haven't gotten any replied from any – or at least any _positive_ replies."

Lucy thought for a moment, "have you applied for our scholarship?"

"Your scholarship?" she asked looking up confused.

"Yep, it's called the '_Celestial Scholarship_'."

"That sounds more like a charity."

"I know, but we haven't gotten that far ahead in our plans. Anyway my mother came up with the idea for teens who don't have enough money to make their dreams come true. My mother was an astronomy major, but decided to work with my dad in the hospitality business."

"I don't know if I qualify though…"

"You haven't even checked it out yet!" said Lucy.

"I-I know, but the way things have been going, I'm pretty sure someone's already gotten it."

"Believe it or not Wendy, but that scholarship has just been recently created, so not that many people have actually applied. The deadline isn't until next week, so if you want you can still apply."

"What do I have to do?"

"Write about your dream."

"My dream?"

"Yeah," she answered, "just like you told me right now, but obviously with more detail on how you came to realize that it was what you wanted."

"D-do you really think I will be able to get it?"

"I do, _and _I promise not to interfere with the choosing of the winner – or rather winners, considering there are 5 of them. That way you'll see that you can do it with your own power."

"Thanks, Lucy," said Wendy with a smile as she hugged the blonde tightly.

"Ouch, careful."

"Sorry!"

When she pulled back, Wendy said, "You know Lucy, you're like a princess."

"Really?"

"Yep! You're young and beautiful and you live in a palace!"

"Thanks, but then what would make you?"

"A commoner?"

"No, I think more like my little fairy."

"Why?"

"Because you always make someone happy with just being you. You may not notice it Wendy, but you are a really special girl."

"Thanks, Lucy."

"Now the only thing we're missing is a Prince Charming!"

"Right!"

The two giggled with delight and as if answering her request, Gray knocked lightly on the door and peeked inside.

"Is it safe to enter, princess?"

"Were you _eavesdropping_?"

"No! I was simply reaching my destination," he answered with a smirk.

"Uh-huh, right," she replied as she rolled her eyes.

He chuckled, "Sadly, I didn't come here to listen in on your conversation about princesses and fairies, but I'm afraid it's time for me and Wendy to go home."

"Aw! But Gray-nii-chan!"

"I know, I know, I don't want to go either, but it's gotten late, missy," he said giving her the look.

The two girls looked at Lucy's alarm clock and realized he was right.

'_Time sure does fly by when you're having fun,_' Lucy thought with a smile.

"Well, bye, Lucy," said Wendy.

"Bye, Wendy," she said as Wendy hugged her carefully this time and hopped off the bed.

"Bye, Luce," said Gray as he approached the bed and hugged her. He wanted to give her a little squeeze but voted it against it.

"Bye, Gray," she replied as she hugged _him_ tighter; just because he couldn't didn't mean _she_ couldn't either.

"Take care," he said as he pulled back. What he did next surprised them both. Just as he was about let go of her completely, he held her small face in his large hands and kissed her forehead.

"Goodnight, princess," he whispered and turned to leave, his face burning red.

Wendy waved goodbye and followed her brother as he practically ran out of the room.

When Wendy closed the door, Lucy's face heated up and smoke came out of her ears. She touched her cheeks and felt the warmth from them emit to her hands. She couldn't help the smile the blossomed across her face as she whispered a single sentence.

"Goodnight, Prince Charming."

* * *

**Okay, I know it's small, but considering the theme, I really couldn't come up with much to include in this chapter. In a way I guess you could say this was more of a Lucy and Wendy chapter, rather than a Gray and Lucy one.**

**Reviews make me type faster,**

**~Karie**


	7. Chapter 7: Destiny

_**Destiny [des-tuh-nee]**_ – (1) something that is to happen or has happened to a particular person or thing. (2) the predetermined, usually inevitable or irresistible, course of events. (3) the power or agency that determines the course of events.

* * *

_**Chapter 7**_

Luna sighed as she flopped back into her chair.

"This is hard," she whined to Lucy.

She giggled, "Well, you _are_ planning a wedding."

"I _know_, but it's still a lot of work."

"No one said it was going to be easy."

"Cut me some slack, Lu-chan, please! It's been my only day off and I have to spend it all on wedding details."

"Where is Laxus then?"

"_Work,_" she replied as she crossed her arms.

"Shouldn't you both have the same day off?"

"Yeah, but the basketball club has a tournament this weekend."

"Ah, I see."

Luna nodded, she grabbed the list of guests and just as she saw the many names on the paper she put it down along with her head.

"I am never going to get through this," she murmured.

She turned her head to the side. "Hey, Lucy?"

"Yeah?"

"How's Gray?"

"He's fine," she replied as she compared different napkins.

Luna pouted. "Any progress?"

"Yeah, I narrowed it down to these 2 colors," she said as she showed her the light lavender one and a light pink.

"Light lavender," she answered as she pointed to the one in her left hand, "and I was talking about you and Gray."

Lucy jumped. "Me and G-Gray?"

"Yeah."

"W-what progress are you talking about?"

"The obvious one," she said as she sat up, "you know, from acquaintances to friends?"

"O-oh! Y-yeah, we're friends now, really good friends."

Luna smiled teasingly, "why? What kind of progress did you think I was asking?"

"N-none!"

"Liar!"

"A-am not!"

"Lucy you always stutter when you lie _and_ you aren't even looking at me in the eye."

"Okay, fine!"

Luna smiled, "So…"

"So?"

"So was _there_ any progress?"

"…Define progress."

"You have got to be kidding me," she said and dropped her head on the table.

"I mean, when he came to visit me last week he did kiss me on the forehead."

"He did!" she exclaimed lifting up her head.

Luna smiled and went to the papers, satisfied with the response she had gotten.

"Hey, Luna?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you believe in the Red String of Fate?"

"The movie or the actual phenomenon?"

"The phenomenon."

"Well, I don't know," she replied as she worked on the sitting charts. She saw from the corner of her eye that Lucy wasn't satisfied with her answer. "I mean, the whole concept of being born for one person is too presumptuous for me. Sure, it's nice and cute that we all have a soul mate, but what about people whose loved ones moved on? Does that mean that they weren't meant for each other?

"The whole point of marriage is to unite two people together who truly love and care for one another, but if they aren't bound by the Red String of Fate, does that mean they can't be happy with one another?" she sighed and put down her pencil when she noticed she was about to break the lead.

"It's a very scary concept you know," she continued in a small voice, "I actually worry about it every now and then. What if - what if Laxus and _I_ aren't for each other? I've known Laxus my whole life, so in more ways than one, I'm terrified that he and I - that _we_ aren't-"

She sighed and covered her face, when she took her hands off her face she said to Lucy, "I'm sorry, but I've just been so stressed."

"I know," replied the blonde with a small smile as she rubbed Luna's back.

When Luna relaxed, she looked at Lucy once more, "Why do you ask?"

"I don't know," she shrugged, "I mean, what were the chances that I would find out about Richard, and only hours later Gray would come in and help? The chances are slim, it doesn't really happen."

"Wait, are you telling me you like Gray? Or did I miss something?"

"Whaaat?" said Lucy avoiding looking into Luna's eyes.

"_Do_ you?"

"I-I don't know, maybe?"

"Lucy, yes or no?"

"Yes?" she said as she braced herself for the screams and hugs that where to follow, but when she peeked an eye open she only saw her future sister-in-law with her mouth hanging open.

"D-did I black out sometime this week or the one before, or just at all?"

"No, you were very much awake."

"Then how come you've only told me now?

"B-because - I don't know. ! mean I only met him-"

"Almost a month ago."

"Exactly! But what if it's only a physical attraction?"

"I doubt it," said Luna as she scratched out a few names here and there, "no person with just a 'physical attraction' would go to such lengths to get someone back," she turned to her, "Did you know he basically lived in this office right here?"

"This is one?"

"This very one," she nodded, "Oh! I forgot to show you something!" she stood up and went to the computer desk.

"What is it? Ooh, do you have the sketches for the bridesmaid dresses?"

"Yes, but that's not what I wanted to show you," she said as she sat back down and handed a paper.

"What is it then?" she asked as she took the paper.

Not even a second after she asked, she gasped. The paper had the drawing Luna had seen when she had been picking up paper.

"Luna, this is-"

"You," she finished, "I found it in the middle of Gray's notes the other day. He really cares about you."

Lucy smiled a tiny smile, "are you saying he likes me?"

"I'm saying there's no way he only likes you physically. Though I have to say I didn't know he could draw."

"I didn't either, but Wendy told me he always wanted to be a pastry chef."

"Really? That's unexpected."

"Yeah, long story short, he couldn't become one because of economic reasons, so I'm guessing that his ability to draw came in handy when he wanted to become one."

"Why doesn't he become one now?"

"I have no idea. Maybe he thinks it's too late?"

Luna shrugged, "have you thought of asking him to come to my wedding?"

"N-no! Why would I do that?"

"Because you like him."

"So? It's your wedding…"

"Okay, fine. _I'll _invited him."

"Luna!"

"What? Like you said, it's _my_ wedding. I can invite whoever I want."

"Aren't you even going to ask Laxus?"

"No, it's what he gets for skipping out on today."

Lucy giggled, "whatever you say, Luna. Whatever you say."

* * *

Gray looked up from his laptop to see his little sister looking at him, "What is it, Wendy?"

"N-nothing!" she answered as she quickly disappeared into the kitchen.

He went back to his work, he had to catch up on it – and fast. He sighed as rubbed his temples. He liked his work, but he didn't love it. It wasn't exactly what he wanted to do with his life. When he opened his eyes again, he found Wendy starting at him again.

"You sure it's nothing?"

"Well, actually…"

"Yes?"

"Umm, never mind!"

"Wendy," he said firmly, "if there's something you want to say then say so."

"Gray-nii-chan…I…I want to be a doctor!"

Gray blinked back surprised at his sister's sudden outburst.

"Okay," he said.

She didn't hear him. "I'm sorry but I don't really want to be a pastry chef and I-"

"Wendy, I said it was fine."

Wendy blinked twice, "y-you did?"

"Yeah."

"Y-you aren't angry? Or upset?"

"Why would I be? You're following your dream."

"B-but-"

"I _am_ a bit hurt that you waited until now to tell me, but I've known this for a while."

"…You have?"

"You think I wouldn't notice when my little sister changed her plans? Besides I happened to have listened in on you with you conversation with Lucy."

"So you really _were_ eavesdropping!"

"It wasn't my intention to, but yes I did. Why did you wait so long? "

"I…I didn't want to. I just didn't know when or rather _how_ to tell you. I-I was scared that you would be disappointed in me…"

He stood up from his seat and kneeled in front of her chair, "Wendy. I could never be disappointed in you. You are my precious little sister. If anything, I'm always scared that you will be disappointed in _me_."

Wendy nodded her head in understanding. Gray smiled and went back to his spot on his laptop. While he typed away the numbers and compared reports, Wendy asked him,

"Gray-nii-chan?"

"Yes, Wendy?"

"Why don't you become a pastry chef now?"

"What are you talking about, Wendy?"

"I'm about to start following my dream, so what about you?"

He sighed, "it's complicated…"

"Why?"

"Because, for one it's a bit too late to start a new career, and two, I've already started my career right now. If I change now, then all that work I did will be in vain. I can't just quit and go to school all of a sudden."

"Then don't quit. Just ask for a part-time or better yet, become an apprentice!"

"Wendy, it's not like being an apprentice is a part-time job. On the contrary it's a full-time job."

She looked down at the table a bit upset.

He looked at her from the corner of his eye, "I understand that you're trying to help, but right now what matters is you. If there was some way for me to become a pastry apprentice _and _keep my job at the same time, then believe me when I tell you I would have jumped at the opportunity."

Wendy nodded. After a while, she stood up from her seat and walked towards the kitchen, "I'll make you some tea."

"Okay, thanks," he replied, his eyes still glued to the screen in front of him.

She grabbed a pair of mugs and started heating up the water. If only there had been a way to help brother. She stood there and leaned back against the wall as she waited for the water to heat up. As she pondered at what she could do, she suddenly stood up straight up the kettle whistled. She quickly turned off the stove and carefully poured the water on the mugs that already had tea bags in them.

Wendy put the cup of tea next to Gray's laptop and took her own to her room. She searched through her desk drawers looking for the card she had been giving a while back. When she couldn't find it, she remembered she had given it to her brother. She quietly sneaked out of her room and tiptoed to his. She had never gone in without asking permission but if her brother knew what she was up to, he would definitely be upset with her.

When she found was she looking for she quickly left his room and ran to her own and locked the door. For whatever reason she felt guilty for doing this, but she _wanted_ to do it, for her brother.

She quickly dialed the number and waited as it rang.

"_Hello?"_

"Lucy, hi," she said her heart racing, "remember how you said I could call you if I ever needed anything?"

"_Yeah, why? Did something happen?_"

"N-no, I just need you to do me a favor please."

* * *

"I am afraid we'll have to let you go, Fullbuster-san."

"What?" said Gray when he processed what he had just been told. "Why? Is it because of what happened a couple of weeks ago? I swear I won't let my personal business come in between-"

"That's not it. Fullbuster-san."

"T-then what is?"

"Word on the street is that you have a talent for pastries. The higher ups heard and want you to transfer to one of their smaller hotels to hone your skills," said his boss Cana Alberona.

Still shocked, Gray said, "T-then why did you say you had to let me go?"

"Because you cannot work for both us and the other hotel. Though I do admit I could have worded better than I did. In a week's time you will be transferred to _Primrose __Hotels, _normally you would have to start up as a non-paid apprentice, _but_ someone put in a word that it won't be necessary and to give you an hour pay. That way you won't have any problem with your domestic costs. Any questions, Fullbuster-san?"

"Do I get a say on this?"

"I'm afraid not," she replied, "When it comes to the people on top there is nothing you and I can do to oppose them – I mean besides getting fired, but that's about it."

Gray nodded and after a while he stood up and offered a handshake to his boss, "Thank you for everything."

"It was no problem Fullbuster-san," his boss stood up and shook hands. When Gray exited the office, she sighed and sat back down on her chair. She opened up the closed tab in her computer and read the horoscope for Pisces.

"Looks like the stars are looking up on you, Gray Fullbuster," she said as she read the horoscope for the day before going back to the documents in front of her.

* * *

**Yes, I know I didn't completely update during GraLu week, but things came up and this chapter believe it or not was hard to write x.x**

**Please review :)**

**~Karie**


	8. Chapter 8: Smell

_**Smell [smel]**_ – (1) to perceive the odor or scent of through the nose by means of the olfactory nerves; inhale the odor of. (4) to perceive something by its odor or scent. (8) to have a particular odor.

* * *

_**Chapter 8**_

For last couple of weeks Gray returned home smelling of sweets and sugar. He didn't mind, he was in a world he had wished for after so long. Sure the work was tough, and although he was pretty much hated by the other 3 apprentices, he didn't care. He was in his happy place.

Both Ultear and Wendy noticed this change, but they didn't say anything. Instead they asked him about how he was doing and what he had learned that day. They had never seen him talk so animated before; he was just content with his new work that there was no way to break him out of his joy.

One day he come home from work early and spotted his older sister getting ready to leave.

"Going somewhere, Ultear?" he asked.

"Yeah, I have a conference tonight, so don't wait for me for dinner," she said as slipped on her heels.

"Alright, take care," he said stepping out of the way for her.

"You too," she said as she walked passed him and left their house.

Gray stood frozen for a good minute as the scent that had passed by him engulfed his sense of smell. He knew this scent, it was Chanel – to be more specific, it was Chance Eau Tendre, the very same one that he associated Lucy with.

He took out his phone and scrolled down the list of his last calls. So far it had just been Wendy, Ultear, and work – no Lucy. He contemplated on calling her, but he really wanted to take a shower. He would call her later today, he was sure of that.

However, later never came. Once he was done with his shower he set directly to make dinner for Wendy and himself, and although Wendy wanted to help, he didn't let her considering he had not cooked anything for them for the past couple of days. After finishing up dinner and washing the dishes he went up to his room while Wendy stayed downstairs to watch TV. He quickly changed into his pajamas and laid down on his bed with the intent on getting comfortable before calling Lucy, but he must have been more tired than he had expected because once his head hit his pillow he was knocked out.

Lucy looked at her phone with a small pout in adorning her cute face as she hung her head upside down from the side of her bed.

"What's wrong, sis?" asked Laxus as he sat down next to her.

"Nothing," she replied as she straightened herself up.

"What do you mean 'nothing'? I know you, and I know that's not nothing."

"Leave her alone, Laxus," said Luna as she entered the room. "She's just upset Gray hasn't called her for the past weeks is all."

"What!" he roared.

"Luna!"

"Oh, don't make that face, Laxus," she said as she stood between the two. "I'm pretty sure you noticed it too, so don't go acting all surprised."

"But-"

"No buts," she said as she pulled him up. "come on, you need to go check if all the orders have been placed and if all the invitations have been mailed."

"Shouldn't you be doing that?" he asked as he let her push him towards the door.

"You mean the orders and invitations I had to plan and choose on my own?" she asked with a sweet smile.

Laxus shivered, he knew that look too well, "I-I was busy-"

"Save it," she said and closed the door behind her. She turned to Lucy and walked towards her bed once more. "So Prince Charming has made no contact as of yet?"

"None," she said a bit disheartened, "the last time I talked to him was when he told me got the job. Do you think I did right?"

"In what?"

"You know…"

Luna laughed, "Of course you did! Do you have any idea how many people would wish someone would give them the career they have always wanted?"

"Yes, but isn't it kind of…unfair?"

"Lucy, the world isn't made of things that are fair or not. It's made up of luck and fate."

"That makes no sense," replied the blonde as she grabbed one of her pillows and hugged it.

"It actually does. While maybe you were fated to meet Gray one way or another, it was only luck got that you two got along so well from the start. For all we know you could have met him under worse circumstances."

"Like what?"

Luna made to say something about Gray's background, but changed her mind, it was not her story to tell. "I don't know, maybe he could have been an exhibitionist asking you for your underwear."

"Luna!" Lucy blushed.

Luna giggled, "I said it could have been worse, doesn't mean he actually could have. Maybe in a parallel universe of some kind, but not here."

"Okay, I see your point," said Lucy with a small smile. "When did you get so wise about all of this?"

"Who knows?" shrugged Luna. "Maybe it's because I grew up earlier than I should have," a dark shadow loomed over her eyes. She turned to Lucy, "or maybe it's because I've had to keep an eye out on your brother so much."

Lucy giggled, "I'm going for the second one. You have to have lots of patience and wisdom to take care of _that_ mess since middle school."

"Exactly!"

The two sat quietly pondering over different things.

"Hey, Luna?"

"Yeah?"

"When you and Laxus get married, will you be living here in the mansion?"

Luna blinked back, "I don't know, I haven't really thought about that…"

"But will you?" she asked a small frown formed in her face, "will you and Laxus stay here?"

Luna sighed and pushed behind some strands of Lucy's hair behind her ear, "Why? You don't want Laxus to leave?"

"No," she shook her head. "I just don't want to be alone…"

A flash of understanding crossed Luna's eyes.

"Then in that case, I guess you'll have to get used to seeing my beautiful face every single day until you decide to move out," she said with a small smirk.

"Thanks, Luna, but you guys don't have to if you don't want to…"

"Hey, where are we going to go? My apartment is made for one person only, and knowing Laxus, he's gotten used to the commodities this place offers…not that I can blame him."

"You're such a mom sometimes," Lucy said with a small smile.

"Well someone has to in this house dominated by men," she winked.

Lucy giggled, "Thanks, Luna. Honestly, thank you."

Luna went over and hugged Lucy and said with a smile, "you are just too cute sometimes."

Lucy laughed.

* * *

When Gray awoke the next morning to the sound of his alarm he cursed under his breath. He didn't call Lucy…again. He sighed and tried to find the snooze button in his alarm clock, but he didn't find it. He lifted up his head and noticed it was his phone ringing, before he could even look at the caller he looked at the time and noticed it was noon.

'_Shit!_'

He quickly stood up and picked up the call, "Hello?"

"_Hey, Gray. It's Luna."_

"Luna? How did you get my number?"

"_Don't worry about it. Listen I need you to do me a favor today. I hope you don't mind."_

"I don't really mind, but I'm sort of busy right now."

"_Really? I thought it was your day off…"_

"No, it's-"

He looked at his calendar and realized she was right, "how did you know that?"

"_Don't worry about that, can you do me the favor or not?"_

"I – sure, I suppose I could."

"_Perfect!_"

"Wait, what am I doing again?"

"_Oh! That's simple I just need you to: start making preparations for my wedding cake, any ideas you have send them over, make sure you are attending my wedding, call Lucy, respond to what entrée you want for the wedding, go over your day with Lucy and-_"

"I get it, I get it. I'll call Lucy."

"_**And**__ don't forget to do everything else._"

"I won't," he said as he hung up the call. After taking a quick shower, he finally wondered how on earth did Luna get her hands on his phone number and why did she want him to call Lucy. So many questions, so little answers, but for now he knew the answer as to why his stomach was growling – he was hungry.

* * *

"Lu-chan"

"…"

"Lu-chan…"

"…"

"Lu-chan!"

"Huh? What?"

"About time, you reacted…" said Levy as she pouted.

"Sorry, Levy-chan, I've had a lot in my mind," replied Lucy sheepishly.

"What's been on your mind?" asked Erza.

"I don't know. I just haven't been able to focus, it's all."

"You sure you aren't hiding something from us?" asked Lisanna.

"Yeah, I'm sure."

"You're a really bad liar, Lucy," said Lisanna seriously.

"What are you talking about?"

"We can all tell there is something bothering you, Lu-chan. I'm a bit hurt that you don't trust us though."

"I do trust you guys!" she said a bit too loudly drawing in the attention of everyone one in the restaurant. She blushed and lowered her voice, "I _do_ trust you guys. I don't see why you would think that?"

"Then tell us why you haven't been eating?" asked Erza.

"I'm just not as hungry as I thought," she replied as she moved around her food.

"Lu-chan, you have to eat something. You haven't eaten anything since this morning. And that was only toast!"

"Okay, fine," Lucy pouted as she took a bite of chicken. "Happy?"

"Very," smiled her friends.

"Has Gray called you?" asked Lisanna.

She froze on the spot, "N-no…," she then looked up at them and smiled, "but I'm sure he's busy, so it's okay."

"Don't worry, Lu-chan," said Levy reassuringly. "I'm sure he'll call eventually."

"I know," she smiled.

They finished their lunch and after paying, left the restaurant. They walked around the mall trying to distract Lucy from her thoughts, which worked for a while until they passed a small fragrance kiosk. She was just walking away from it, until she smelled a familiar scent. She knew this scent, it was Gray's scent, Ralph Lauren's Red Polo. She remembered it clearly because it was the first thing she smelled when she clung to him the day he found her.

"Lu-chan?"

"Huh? Y-yeah?"

"You sure there's nothing going on?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, just-"

"Lucy-san? Is that you?"

Lucy turned around and saw a young woman walking towards them.

"I'm sorry, who are you?" she asked, unsure of whom this beautiful person was in front of her.

"Oh, This is Juvia, she helped Gray find you a couple weeks back," answered Lisanna.

"Juvia is glad that Lucy-san is safe and sound now. Juvia has never seen Gray-sama act so irrational before – aside from a couple of times but that would be about it."

"Gray-sama?" she asked. "How do you know, Gray?" she asked curiously.

"Juvia and Gray-sama used to date back in high school, he helped Juvia overcome many things," she smiled sweetly.

"Oh," replied the blonde, unsure of how to react. Her heart stung as the words processed in her head. '_Of course he would have dated someone so beautiful,_' she thought to herself bitterly. "So are you and Gray close?"

"We were, but Lyon-sama and Juvia are making amends with Gray-sama after some time."

"Ah, I see," she nodded. She wasn't sure what the story was, but she was certain she was intruding in some way.

"…Lucy-san."

'_Crap, what did she say?_' she thought as she realized she had zoomed out. "I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that."

"That is alright. Juvia was wondering if Lucy-san and her friends would like to join Juvia in searching for a present for Lyon-sama."

'_She's so nice,_' she thought with a smile. She turned to her friends, "if you guys don't mind-"

"We don't mind," answered Erza before Lucy could finish.

The group went back to the small kiosk they had passed before. However, Lucy's mind wasn't as into it as she wanted it to be. All she could think about was the fact that Juvia had become acquainted with the same smell she had found comfort in _before_ her, and that really bothered her for some reason. Was she…_jealous_?

She looked to her crush's ex-girlfriend and sighed before looking at the bottle in her hands. It was _Homme by David Beckham._ She started to recall that time Luna had given her brother a new cologne.

* * *

"_Why are you getting Laxus __**another**__ cologne? Didn't you get him one for his birthday already?"_

"_Yeah, but…it's complicated. Like, I don't want him to have the same scent other girls liked, I don't want that," Luna answered as she looked through the different bottles in front of her. "When I'm with him I want him to have a scent only __**I**__ know of, or rather a scent __**I**__ find comfort it."_

"_But won't it take a while for you to get used to it?"_

"_Yeah," she replied picking up a bottle and spraying it on a sample paper. "But it'll be worth it in the end, trust me."_

_Lucy looked at her confused, unsure as to what she meant by that, but shrugged and helped the older girl look for a new fragrance for her brother._

* * *

"Do you like that fragrance, Lucy-san?" asked Juvia. She had noticed she had been staring at that bottle for a while now.

"Uh, I'm not sure, it's a present for someone…"

"Is it for Gray-sama?" she asked innocently.

Lucy almost dropped the bottle. "W-what makes you say that?"

"Gray-sama transferred jobs recently," she answered, confused by the girls actions.

Lucy stayed quiet. _'Oh yeah, I forgot about that,'_ she thought to herself.

"Are you going to buy that?" the older woman asked.

"I-I'm not sure," she said while moving the bottle around in her hand. '_Should I? I mean we aren't even going out, we're only friends…_'

"If you do, I'm sure Gray-sama will appreciate it," said Juvia as she went back to the group of girls.

Lucy looked at the bottle in her hand with determination. The salesgirl approached her with her a smile.

"Everything alright, Miss?" she asked.

"Yes," she replied. "Ano, I'd like to purchase this as a gift for someone…"

The girl took the bottle Lucy offered her. "Wonderful selection, Miss," she said with a knowing smile and led her towards the cash register.

Lucy quickly paid before any of the others saw her and waited as the girl delicately put the cologne in a bag and added blue tissue paper.

"Lucy? You ready?" asked Erza coming around the corner.

"Y-yeah, almost," she replied, almost begging the young girl to hurry up with her eyes.

"And done," she said handing the bag to Lucy. "Thank you for shopping with us!"

Lucy nodded and started to walk away, but before hearing the salesgirl's last comment.

"And miss, I'm sure your boyfriend will love your gift."

"T-thank you," she replied and rapidly walked over to where Erza was.

Erza looked at Lucy for a minute. "Lucy are you okay? Your face is red…"

"I-is it?" she asked as she tried to pat down the blush rising to her cheeks.

"Yeah," she replied firmly, before smirking at her. "But I'm sure this wouldn't have anything to do with your _boyfriend_ would it?"

"E-Erza!" she exclaimed turning redder by the second.

The redhead laughed. "I was only joking," she said as she put an arm around her and led her towards the group of girls waiting for them.

By the time they reached the group, Lucy had somehow managed to cool down her cheeks. She expected Erza to comment to everyone about her bag, but like always, Erza kept to herself and didn't bring it up, much to her relief. The others didn't mention it either, so she didn't. Despite the small weight the bag in her hand, she could barely feel it as she left the mall with a smile and a weight off her shoulders.


End file.
